clothing without the bad karma
I have to share with you my favourite company in Madrid - conscient.es
It´s the first port of call for any vegetarians, vegans, fashionistas, progressive thinkers, indie rockers, elderly grannies or shoe fanatics arriving in Madrid. If you hate the idea of wearing dead cows on your feet you are going to have trouble finding non-leather shoes in Madrid, it´s a fact. This webstore is the only place I have found shoes which are not only cruelty-free but are made from organic and recycled materials in unionised co-operatives - so no sweatshops either!
It´s also the only distributor of cult Munich t-shirt label Cheap Monkey (which you can see in the photos) - these shirts are made from organic bamboo and cotton and are the softest, most luxurious things you have ever touched. They also look hot and are reasonable on the pocket.
The guys from conscient.es are Madrileños and it´s a small independent company which is carbon neutral. They have an immediate order system which means that you receive your stuff within a couple of days of paying online - and if it doesn´t fit they replace it free of charge. They are opening a store in Malasaña in the coming months but in the meantime the best place to browse is at the website - www.conscient.es - and they also have a myspace page - www.myspace.com/conscient
I´ve bought quite a few little gems from conscient.es and they have become the prized possessions of my wardrobe. You can see my happy green ballet feet in the photos below!
I recommend this service for it´s usefulness to newcomers in Madrid - skip the zapaterias in Sol and save yourself the grief of buying shoes which immediately fall apart (which happened to me.) Skip the big chains and wear something unique, and something you can be proud of.
