Oventic Boot Cooperative Exports Boots to Canada
Article Written by Simon Walker
Automotive workers throughout Canada may soon be sporting some new Zapatista footwear. The Black Star Boot Collective in Canada has been importing boots made at the “First of January” cooperative in the Zapatista caracol of Oventic, Chiapas since July, 2004. If things go as planned, Black Star Boot will soon have Zapatista-made boots on the feet of workers in automotive plants across the country.
“We are negotiating with the union of the Canadian automotive industry so that the factory workers use the boots we import from Chiapas,” said Chris Arsenault, an activist with the Students Taking Action in Chiapas collective (STAC) which runs the Black Star Boot program.
According to Aresnalut, the “First of January” cooperative “is a small workshop where 15 people hand-make between 30 and 40 pairs of boots per week, without bosses and without the coercion and hierarchy typical of maquiladoras.”
The boots are currently sold for approximately $90 and are available online, and in stores and bookshops in a number of Canadian cities. While they are not currently used as part of any factory uniform in Canada, Arsenault assures that existing demand for the Zapatista boots exceeds the cooperative’s current production.
“We need to comply with certain norms so that the unions approve the boots for use. Because of this, we are planning an expansion of the workshop in Oventic and the opening of other workshops in the coming year,” he said. The cooperative is also planning to offer additional styles including steel-toe work boots, and insulated models for the frosty Canadian winter.
According to the collective’s web page, the “Black Star Boot Co-operative is officially recognized by the Junta del Buen Goberino (Good Government Council) for Los Altos, Chiapas. This project is not about ‘good hearted entrepreneurs’ cashing in on brand Zapatista. It is an example of international solidarity, globalization from below, encompassing many of the hopes and the contradictions which define our age.”
Although the boots cost around $35 to purchase from the “First of January” cooperative in Chiapas; transporting the boots to Canada costs adds another $10 per pair. In addition, tariffs stipulated under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) amount to 35 percent of the value of the boots, which puts the total cost at nearly $60.
Adam Squibb, another member of STAC, says the purpose of the Black Star Boot Collective is to demonstrate that there are efficient and just economic models that can function without the hegemony of the market or state intervention.
For more information, visit:
The Black Star Boot Collective
Students Taking Action in Chiapas
Source: Expresso Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, November 6, 2005
Automotive workers throughout Canada may soon be sporting some new Zapatista footwear. The Black Star Boot Collective in Canada has been importing boots made at the “First of January” cooperative in the Zapatista caracol of Oventic, Chiapas since July, 2004. If things go as planned, Black Star Boot will soon have Zapatista-made boots on the feet of workers in automotive plants across the country.
“We are negotiating with the union of the Canadian automotive industry so that the factory workers use the boots we import from Chiapas,” said Chris Arsenault, an activist with the Students Taking Action in Chiapas collective (STAC) which runs the Black Star Boot program.
According to Aresnalut, the “First of January” cooperative “is a small workshop where 15 people hand-make between 30 and 40 pairs of boots per week, without bosses and without the coercion and hierarchy typical of maquiladoras.”
The boots are currently sold for approximately $90 and are available online, and in stores and bookshops in a number of Canadian cities. While they are not currently used as part of any factory uniform in Canada, Arsenault assures that existing demand for the Zapatista boots exceeds the cooperative’s current production.
“We need to comply with certain norms so that the unions approve the boots for use. Because of this, we are planning an expansion of the workshop in Oventic and the opening of other workshops in the coming year,” he said. The cooperative is also planning to offer additional styles including steel-toe work boots, and insulated models for the frosty Canadian winter.
According to the collective’s web page, the “Black Star Boot Co-operative is officially recognized by the Junta del Buen Goberino (Good Government Council) for Los Altos, Chiapas. This project is not about ‘good hearted entrepreneurs’ cashing in on brand Zapatista. It is an example of international solidarity, globalization from below, encompassing many of the hopes and the contradictions which define our age.”
Although the boots cost around $35 to purchase from the “First of January” cooperative in Chiapas; transporting the boots to Canada costs adds another $10 per pair. In addition, tariffs stipulated under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) amount to 35 percent of the value of the boots, which puts the total cost at nearly $60.
Adam Squibb, another member of STAC, says the purpose of the Black Star Boot Collective is to demonstrate that there are efficient and just economic models that can function without the hegemony of the market or state intervention.
For more information, visit:
The Black Star Boot Collective
Students Taking Action in Chiapas
Source: Expresso Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, November 6, 2005
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