Stomp Through Winter Weather Ethically
First a confession. NYCYak was once a Canadian yak. Vancouver, to be precise. As such, I have fared through my share of wet wet winters. Well, I’m back in my old pastures at the edge of the Pacific again, and I’ve been grazing the Pacific Northwest for winter shoes that keep my toes warm and dry without compromising my ethics or my grad-student-thin wallet.
Lo and behold, I present to you: the first non-Made in China rain-boots I’ve ever seen! Kamiks! Kan you believe it?! Kamik boots are made in Canada and their company is family-run. Kould it be?!
Aye. They carry rain-boots, winter boots, shoes, sandals, and more. For male and female yaks, mind you. And while I nabbed my pair at Pacific Centre’s LoCale shoe store, you can get yours through Zappos’ Kamik pages.
So while everyone else spends double or triple by buying those ridonculously over-priced Hunter wellies (which are now made in China, not Scotland as they used to be), you can walk a little lighter knowing you put your money and your foot down for Tibet.
I decided to test-driving my Kamik wellies by stomping around in the bitterly cold Pacific Ocean.
I waded in and out of the water for a good thirty minutes. A few dubious seagulls and ducks were my witnesses.
My experiment was a unanimous success! I sat on a log to contemplate how wonderfully things always pan out when I don’t buy Made in China.
Another company that makes winter shoes in North America is LL Bean. Their shoes are ugly-cool. If that’s your thing, that is. Alright, if you know of any other companies that Tibetans and supporters should be supporting instead of China, please share in the comments section!
Love love love these posts! Love shopping but hate being halted on my way to the cash register when I see ‘Made in China’. Keep ’em coming!
Non-MIC Toy Brands
Ajafield
Bear Creek Toys
Gardenkids
Kathy’s Kreations
KNEX (construction sets)
Lauri
“POOF” (foam Products)
Smethport
Toys N Things
Turner Toys
Woodlinks
Non-MIC Toys
Aaron’s Balloon Animals
Amazen Marbles
Anadex Bead Roller Coaster
Antlantis
Bimini Ring Game
Berlin Flyer Wagons
Blues Clues Coloring Books
BoNZ Wooden 3D Dinosaurs
Breyer Horses
Briarpatch Games
Bubble Party
Bubble Tumbler
Bubble-Go-Around
Claytoon
Colorforms
Crayola Crayons
Creativity for Kids
Curiosity Kits
Dino Works
Easel Paper
Eye Witness Kits
Fabulous Fiddlestix
Fun Ride
Francis Family Toys
Great American Puzzle Factory Jig Saw Puzzles
Holdale Baby Bingo Bed
Holdale Big Wooden Beads
Hug-A-Planet
Lauri Travel Packs
Magic Cloth Toy Collection
Magic Science
Marshall Brodien Magic kits
Monster Puppets
Nature Net
Paint-A-Tyra-Dino and Wooden T-Rex kit
Perler Beads
Pipsqueak Playhouse
Playground balls
Play Doh (the original by Hasbro)
Radio Flyer wagons and vehicles. (not Flexible Flyer sleds)
Remo Brand Drums
Replogle Globes
Rock Tumbler
Sand Castle Creations, doll clothes from soggy Newport, Oregon
Scientific Explorer Kits
Sculpy Brand Clay
Simplex Play Board Wooden Puzzles
Slinky
Sportsfun Hi Walker Stilts
Sportsfun Hop-A-Roo Hoppy Ball
Sportsfun Scooteroo (skateboard/scooter)
Sportsfun Pogo-A-Roo (pogo stick)
State to State Game
Stomp rocket
Toobers and Zots
Tweber Backyard exploring gear, Children’s nature products.
University Games
Visible Man or Woman Anatomy Models
Volcano Kit
Wild Goose Science Kits
Wild Wood of West Virginia (wooden figures on rockers)
Wonder Board Magnetic Set
WoodKrafter Kits
Thank you Gendun la for this list! You’ve done a lot of research on this!
Thanks for showing that there are affordable, good-looking, not made in China boots. But beware of L.L.Bean, many of their goods are made overseas and China, some of their products are still made in the USA. Just check before you buy.
Ah ok, thanks for letting us know Nina!
This site somehow managed to cross my mind today and surprisingly Google helped me with the spelling! Haha
I have read your articles and loved it.
As a Tibetan, I feel the responsibility to know more about our country, citizens and culture. As a matter of fact, despite being a Tibetan, I never had the chance to learn about it. Can you please suggest me where and how it is possible to gain knowledge regarding Tibet.
Today, like some days, I am getting that strange feeling about Tibet and feel the need to do something and have decided to start as a fresh Tibetan kid by learning the language. Please do help me.
Hey Norbu,
Glad to hear about your enthusiasm. You can check out this past blogpost for our suggested winter reading list on Tibet:
https://lhakardiaries.com/2012/01/04/lhakar-winter-reading-list/
Here you can find a quick way to make help your Tibetan get better, by chatting in Tibetan, here’s how:
https://lhakardiaries.com/2011/12/07/how-to-chat-like-a-pro-in-tibetan-a-cheat-sheet/
We hope the following site will assist you on your efforts. Good luck!
Thanks alot for your concern.. 🙂
Will do my best…
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