So, I have kind of a confession.  I waited until we had the biggest rainstorm in years to even think about buying rain boots.  I waited until my work shoes and socks were soaked through, and I was sloshing around the office all day, to ask myself, “I wonder if I can buy Kamik recycled rain boots here in the Bay Area.”  I’d already researched the boots for inclusion in my book.  I just hadn’t bothered to actually try them out.  Until now.

So, last Thursday evening, I found myself in Nordstrom at San Francisco Centre asking if there were any Kamik rain boots and basically getting laughed at for thinking any store in town would still have any rain boots left.  So I did something I’m not proud of.  I ordered them overnight from Amazon.  And they arrived the next day.

Kamiks are great but Amazon sucks

Okay, first let me tell you about the boots, and then let me explain why ordering from Amazon is not the best idea.

Most Kamik boots are made in either Canada or the U.S.A..  The Canadian factory, where my new boots were made, runs on hydroelectric power.  Here’s a video about all the steps the company has taken to reduce its environmental footprint.

But the boots are made from plastic, right?  Yes, they are.  But the black boots are made from recycled plastic — which is why I ordered plain black ones.  And most styles can be returned to Kamik at the end of their useful lives for recycling into more boots.  Make sure the boot style you are considering is on their Recyclable Boots list.  I chose the Olivia model.

Kamiks run small, which I read in the reviews on Amazon.com, so I ordered a size bigger than I normally would have.  They don’t fit perfectly — but I have oddly shaped feet with a very wide front foot and narrow ankles.  So my heels slide up and down a bit, but I’d rather that than boots that fit too tight.  I’m just happy that my feet are dry!  The other size issue is that they tend to fit somewhat tight on the calf.  People with muscular calves complained that they didn’t fit.  The size I bought do fit me, and I can even get my pant legs inside if I roll them tightly around my ankles before putting my legs in the boots.

If I hadn’t waited until the last minute to purchase boots, I wouldn’t have bought them from Amazon.com.  According to Green America, Amazon ranks very low in terms of environmental and social responsibility.  And they treat their workers pretty poorly.  Read Green America’s blog post about the problems with Amazon.com and finding better alternatives.  I think Amazon should pretty much be reserved as a last resort when you really need something and can’t get it any other way.  But I confess, I was impulsive, and my feet were cold.