Buying cheap shoes in Geelong

from w
There is certainly a problem in Australia about being 'ethical' in choosing which shoes and clothes to buy.
- My brown shoes which I wore all the time have been falling apart so I needed new shoes. I know, I know, that buying cheap shoes from Rivers or similar stores means supporting those dreadful factories in Bangladesh, but what else can you do. I can't pay $200. It's impossible in Australia for a factory to make clothes or shoes cheaply with our very high wages. SBS, Four Corners, the Age, the Sydney paper all have stories at present about importing cheap products particularly referencing the collapse of a factory and over a thousand deaths in Bangladesh. But what is the solution? I did buy the shoes - black, less than $30. I wonder if they will last a month or more. School type shoes we bought for a grandson at Rivers lasted four weeks before breaking. Op shops shoes may be a better option even though maybe years old!  And... of course I go barefoot as much as I can.