So very very good, yet so cheap!!

Jamie – Member
Let’s not discount the fact, that some people do buy into that reassuringly expensive way of thinking.

So if I make a rectangular object with a touch screen that makes phone calls for £50 apple should leave me alone?

i budgeted £10.99 for my winter gloves this year.
gonna spend my £6 change on some nice juicy battery reared fried chicken, for my lunch……. 8)

I bought some last year, best winter gloves I have had so far.
Like ‘Ton’ not really mithered about the ethics just want some gloves to keep my hands warm that don’t break the bank.

I refuse to buy them, I’d much rather spend £35-40 on something thats not as good VFM & is made by happy people in a nice workplace & paid a reasonable wage.

Some folk just love a good scrap Ton.
Was only a matter of time before the gloves came off. 😉

Ton, would you like a set of these?
It’s just unbelievable where an argument can come from…

one thing I would love to add to this,
can anyone name a me a cycling clothing company, who does NOT get their clobber made in the far east.

Some of the Endura stuff is made in the sweatshops of Livingston.
Gore have factories all over Europe.

where is the rest made?

Livingston.

My god, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone 😯

SMS Santini…

Do you have any inside info on the labour practices of their suppliers though?
I’d really like to see a law requiring certification of working standards for goods to be sold within the EU. Well, it’d be good to see that worldwide, but ut’s the sort of legislation Europe could realistically achieve.
In the meantime it irks me a bit that most people only question the labour practices of cheap retailers.

You need to look at how the manufacture and supply distribution chain work, each person in the chain doubles the price, take them out and it cuts the cost massively and gives the retailer a greater margin, simples!

Tesco don’t make Tesco beans neither incase you were wondering

can anyone name a me a cycling clothing company, who does NOT get their clobber made in the far east.

Just so you know. The ‘far east’ is a big place with lots of different countries in it. Some of them are different to some of the others.

oy smartarse…..even I know that.
what I was implying was that most, if not every, clothing company get’s their stuff from somewhere in the far east.

so lidl/aldi are no worse than anyone else are they?

They look crap

NO NO NO!! I have the older “biker” gloves and they’re perfect cheap warm dry and lasting for years. These ones are rubbish in comparison. They get sweaty and the lining doesn’t dry out. I have to put them under the hand drier a couple of times throughout the day before I ride home. Then the palms have developed creases after a couple of weeks use. The velcro cuff is too fat to fit under the sleeve and the not gauntlet enough to fit over the sleeve leaving a cold wet gap at the wrist. These things are more detailed and must have cost more to make but are worse. Aldi sort this out.

Personally I prefer the Lidl ones.

By far the best winter gloves I have ever used. Too warm for them at the minute though…

so lidl/aldi are no worse than anyone else are they?

They might be – depends whether they have a transparent supply chain and know that the factories making their stuff don’t use child labour etc.

The overall very low cost can indicate lax morals. You stating you didn’t care as long as you got cheap stuff can indicate not understanding the difference between cost of things and value of things. IMHO of course.

Completely unethical. They’ve totally ripped off the design of ‘gloves’ – they’re exactly the same FFS!

Not really sure why folk recommend ALDI or LIDL gear when it’s generally only on sale one day each year. Or are hey selling these tomorrow?
No matter how warm these gloves are they look rubbish for mountain biking.

scotroutes – Member

Some of the Endura stuff is made in the sweatshops of Livingston.

Is that the stuff that falls apart the first time you wear it?

Echo the couple of comments stating they look crap. In fact, they look like something you’d buy from a petrol station, or Aldi

campkoala – Member
No matter how warm these gloves are they look rubbish for mountain biking.

Never seen a full winter glove that looks even close to suitable for off-road, unless mincing massively

Abductee – totally agree. Why do manufacturers think we need a Velcro wrist strap on winter gloves! Totally unnecessary imo.

Never seen a full winter glove that looks even close to suitable for off-road, unless mincing massively

Well that’s a new excuse for mincing I’ve not heard before – ‘sorry I’m going so slowly but the design of my gloves isn’t even close to suitable for off-road’. 😕

Are these in Aldi now?

Are these in Aldi now?

dont know, but i am currently sat on mine, keeping my cheeks warm in a cold warehouse.
freck me, they are dual purpose too………..awsome 8)

they look like something you’d buy from a petrol station, or Aldi

😀

Most stuff is made in China and the difference is mark up and overheads.

Aldi don’t mark up much and their business model is very efficient and leads to low overheads.

I’d gues many of the gloves from established biking brands are made in the same or similar factories as the Aldi ones.

I’ve got a pair and they are way to warm for the mild weather we’ve got at the moment, but if it gets proper chilly then they will be coming out.

TooTall
Just so you know. The ‘far east’ is a big place with lots of different countries in it. Some of them are different to some of the others.

ton
oy smartarse…..even I know that.

Which gloves for Thai bride 😉

So if I make a rectangular object with a touch screen that makes phone calls for £50 apple should leave me alone?

well assuming you haven’t infringed any patents in the competitive fair market we have apple would shit themselves and look at reducing the cost of the iphone but I reckon in reality chances are apple’s lawyers would spend the next 3 years making your life hell and if you didn’t have just as good lawyers you’d be screwed.

Never seen a full winter glove that looks even close to suitable for off-road, unless mincing massively

pfff you want me to ride that drop, in these gloves?! have a word!
I can vouch for the fact that whilst mincing in sub zero temps these gloves are da bomb.

Sub zero doesn’t even require gloves, minus 15 mibbie a thin pair of Troy lees.

rip off design,

Which design is that?

non licensed materials,

A manufacturer cutting costs…

zero warranty,

12 months in the EU (I think)

slave labour

Or keeping people in work…

PS – great psa – Will buy 2 pairs this weekend if they haven’t been gobbled up already.

Working conditions in Aldi’s suppliers in China and Indonesia:

Suggestions for consumer and trade union action, August 2007

The largest German and European discounter, Aldi, is selling its clothing bargains at a high price: in its study, the SÜDWIND Institute provides evidence of unprecedented violations of labour laws in Chinese and Indonesian factories which supply Aldi. Almost completely unnoticed in the public domain, discounters have taken over the top positions in Germany’s textile and clothing retailing in recent years. Part of the basic concept of discounters is the drastic savings in personnel costs – both in German branches and in supplier factories throughout the world.

The 96 page study ends with a number of suggestions for consumer and trade unions action.

http://www.suedwind-institut.de/fileadmin/fuerSuedwind/Publikationen/Publikationen_Englisch/2007-12_Aldi_s_clothing_bargains.pdf

campkoala – Member
Sub zero doesn’t even require gloves, minus 15 mibbie a thin pair of Troy lees.

*swoon* this is why we keep you 😉

Has anyone seen pussywillow lately?

Campkoala speaks the truth about the gloves. But the onesie and Davie Crocket hat he wears lessens the effect.

Just on a slight side note, the company I used to work for supplied products to Aldi, using the exact same machines and materials, they would sell the exact same to Marks and Spencers. M&S would charge nearly 5 times the cost Aldi was.
But the product was EXACTLY the same…
PS: The company did not endorse child labour, nor was it a “sweat shop”. Decent company actually with above average salary.

Working conditions in Aldi’s suppliers in China and Indonesia:

oh dear. That was 07 don’t suppose there’s any evidence they’ve sorted conditions in the meantime is there kimbers?

I’ve just bought some. For £4.98 they seem bloody brilliant! I’ve never had winter/waterproof gloves so the inner liner is a bit strange. But they seem well made and the strap does up tight, they fit my (small) hands well.