Our values are our foundation
TRANSPARENCY
We are increasingly conscious of the requirement to be transparent and accountable beyond the product we sell. We are all increasingly concerned that we are supporting ethical companies. At SHOE SCIENCE we welcome this attitude as we pride ourselves on our values. Below is our position regarding;
- Our intent
- Our ownership and community
- Our staff
- Our environment
It is our goal to improve our transparency to our customers over time. We will add to this. If you are interested in the people behind the brand, see - people behind SHOE SCIENCE
OUR CUSTOMER INTENT
Our intent is - to help our customers achieve fitness in the context of their life balance. Fitness sits with work, family, and friends as the fundamentals. We believe a balanced life is a better life and this guides us to help your fitness in your life balance.
Also, we encourage our clients to consider themselves as an 'athlete in the context of their life balance'. What we mean by this is 99% of people have a bigger life than just exercise, therefore it is important to set realistic aspirations and expectations. If you are meeting the challenge of improving your personal fitness, you are an athlete in our eyes.
After visiting, we do want you to leave feeling well equipped, and like the athlete you are.
OUR OWNERSHIP AND COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
Our brand, Online store, and physical stores are New Zealand owned and operated. We are a franchise company with a head office and physical stores owned by franchisees.
The SHOE SCIENCE vision is to move forward with Online and physical stores because we believe in both and the various options they provide to our customers. Our Online store offers amazing convenience from anywhere, and the physical stores offer the human sales experience.
Often a company's Online service competes with the company's physical stores. At SHOE SCIENCE this is not the case. Both are integrated to ensure the longevity of community stores and the families supported by that store.
We also attempt to support brands and companies that are invested in New Zealand, employing New Zealanders.
OUR STAFF
Without our very talented and dedicated staff, we could not provide a service. Our staff is respected and valued as the footwear experts they are. These are some of the ways we express
- Living wage – all full-time staff are paid the NZ ‘living wage’ as a minimum.
- Full-time staff work 5 day week to allow time for friends and family.
- All our staff is trained and provided with continual education.
- We operate a respectful workplace that does not tolerate inappropriate behavior.
- We encourage a life balance between work, fitness, family, and friends.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
The COVID-19 experience has proven that the environment does recover when we operate differently.
Unfortunately, all technical running and walking brands are manufactured overseas, so we have no option except to be part of a global community. However, there is still a lot we can do to minimize our footprint.
We are environmentally aware and have specific environmental practices.
- No single-use bags are provided. There are enough bags on the planet.
- We have stopped providing chilled plastic bottled water.
- We avoid ordering single pairs of shoes from suppliers to minimize our transport environmental impact. Rather we place large orders for only one courier trip.
- All cardboard is recycled.
- We do not stock any footwear models that have an unacceptable short life span. It would be irresponsible to stock shoes that have been shipped around the world, to only last a few training outings before going to landfills in NZ.
- The environmental and human practices of the brands we stock are a growing part of our consideration.
