What a Waste: My Sheepskin and Things Moccasins Won’t Make it Through This Winter Let Alone Next Winter

Holes in the lining and the soles falling off- not how one would expect "durable" moccasins to wear in 3 months.

I’m diverging from overpackaging for a post, as I have before to talk about wastefully made items that just create more waste and burden the environment (see a previous post I did on Forever 21 leggings that only lasted me one wear here).

At the end of November, I bought moccasins from Sheepskin and Things online. I bought one pair for my mother and one for myself. I received the moccasins on December 7th. A second box arrived at the same time with a third pair of moccasins in a different size and colour than my mother’s and mine and with an invoice with someone else’s name, address, and part of their credit card number. I immediately contacted Sheepskin and Things through their email address to tell them that I had received this other box of moccasins and asked them what I should do. I never heard anything back.

I was initially pleased with my moccasins. They were much prettier than my last moccasins, with a rabbit fur fringe and beading. They were light and comfortable to wear around my house, making excellent slippers. My place has a lot of wood floors, so I appreciated having warm slippers in the winter.

In early January, I noticed that the inside of my new moccasins, less than one month old were wearing through at the heels. I was shocked. I emailed Sheepskin and Things again. I never heard anything back. I was really disappointed and felt a fool for purchasing moccasins through their website, rather than from a store that I could take them back to.

Holes had started to form in the "sheepskin" linings of the moccasins.

In early February, when the moccasins were less than two moths old, I noticed that the bottoms of the moccasins were starting to come off as the stitching had come undone in places. I’m not sure if they are defective or just badly made, but I would expect more than two months of wear of moccasins before they start to fall apart. My other pairs of moccasins that I’ve had over the years have lasted much longer.

By two months, the holes in linings had become worse.

The soles of the moccasins were coming off already. . .

. . . in multiple places.

This time, I went to the Sheepskin and Things website, and filled in an online contact form. This time I did receive a reply. The fellow from their customer service department told me that they were switching their customer service system and that is why my emails had not been answered. I felt renewed hope that they would help me with my falling apart moccasins. They asked me to send photos of my moccasins.

I sent the photos from early January email and photos from early February. The fellow wrote back and said it looked like my moccasins had been wet from wearing them outside. I wrote back to tell him that I most certainly had not worn my moccasins, which I wear as slippers indoors only, outside. I pointed out to him that I have many, many other shoes to wear outside, including a couple of pairs of beautiful mukluks (not from their company by the way). I also said that I was really upset at the bad customer service that I had had thus far and being accused of wearing these moccasins outside.

It was obvious from looking at the photos that the stitching on the bottom of the moccasins had failed and that is why the soles were coming off. Also, the inside lining of the moccasins was clearly not just sheepskin as it had a strange net-like backing to it. Perhaps this doesn’t wear as well as true sheepskin and that is why my linings were wearing through so fast.

I heard nothing back from the customer service agent. I gave it a week and emailed back. Nothing again. I used the online form on their website again and asked if they would ever be replying to help me. I have heard nothing since. It’s been more than two months since I first contacted them about my defective moccasins.

The Sheepskin and Things website has this to say about their women’s moccasins:
“Providing Canadians and the world with only the best in Canadian made fur moccasins and fur slippers. Our fur moccasins and fur slippers are made with select soft suedes and luxurious leather. Enjoy our fur moccasins and fur slippers in the comfort of your home! Our moccasins and slippers are hand beaded with an assortment of colourful glass beads.”

The description for my particular moccasins on their website states:
“Create your own traditions with our womens [sic] Indian tan rabbit fur moccasins. These are the perfect gift for your family. These womens [sic] Indian tan moccasins are made in Canada with genuine Canadian suede and plush rabbit fur. Each womens [sic] moccasins have a hand sewn glass beaded design on the vamp that is unique to each moccasin. These moccasins are ideal for indoor wear. The suede moccasin sole is soft yet durable [emphasis added] keeping your feet warm and comfortable all year long.”

Besides stating that the moccasins are made with select/luxurious materials, that they’re ideal for indoor wear, and that they’re durable, the descriptions don’t say anything about the moccasins being destroyed if they come into contact with any water in your home (from time to time one may encounter drops of water on the floor of the bathroom or kitchen in one’s home.) In any event, they are most certainly not durable in my experience.

It’s been three months since I received the moccasins and there are holes in the “sheepskin” lining of the moccasins and the sole of each moccasin continues to come off.

Three months of wear and these moccasins look really worn out and sad on their soles . . .

. . . and in their worn out lining.

Can't believe that these moccasins are so worn out after only three months. What junk.

I feel upset every time I wear them, thinking about not only how I was ripped off, but also how the company treated me when it was clear that the moccasins were defective. I still can’t believe they chose to accuse me of wearing them outside and then never email me back. It’s one of the worst cases of customer service failure that I have ever experienced in my life. Who knows if that fellow whose moccasins got delivered to me ever got a replacement pair. And I still haven’t been told what to do with his moccasins. If I were the owner of the company, I would be embarrassed and worried if I had sent someone’s name and full address and part of their credit card number to another customer. In these days of identity theft, that’s a really bad move. Accidental or not, clearly their system needs some work.

My mother has not worn her moccasins much yet and maybe she’ll have a better experience, but given the company’s lack of customer service or willingness to stand behind the quality of my moccasins, I don’t feel optimistic.

I’ve bought many wonderful things online, but these moccasins are an example of either junk or something defective that a company won’t stand behind. It’s a shame for resources to be wasted on items that will just be thrown out before they should be. I try to buy items that will last as long as possible because that’s better than buying disposable or poorly made items that will just create more garbage in the landfill. Now I must look for a new pair of slippers soon, as these will be garbage much sooner than they should be. What a shame and what a waste.

I’ve been burned before and I’m sure I will be again shopping online, but one thing is for certain. I’ll never be buying anything from Sheepskin and Things again.

Vileda Bee Mop Classic Sponge Roller Mop- If You Don’t Want a Disposable Mop Don’t Buy This One

I bought one of these Vileda Bee mops at Walmart when I was preparing to move out of my last place. I used it twice and the sponge part started to fall off of the metal that anchors it to the mop. It was separating at the sides. It was useless. I was very annoyed that it only lasted two uses and I figured that it must be defective. So, I took it back to Walmart and exchanged it for a new Vileda Bee mop.

I used the new Vileda Bee mop once and then when I got it out to use it the second time, I noticed that the sponge was separating off of the metal anchor again. It was almost impossible to use with the sponge head wobbling and not making proper contact with the floor. It was infuriating. After the second use, the sponge had almost completely separated off of the metal and it can no longer be used.

The sponge started separating off the metal head of my second Vileda mop after only one use, this is after two uses.

The sponge itself on the part that touches the floor is in great shape because I've only used it twice, but it's unusable due to the sponge separating off of the metal at the back.

Two uses and this mop is garbage. What a disappointment.

Now I have an infant and I can’t just go waltzing off to Walmart every second mopping to exchange my Vileda Bee mop for a new one. So, I’m stuck with an unusable mop and have to buy a new mop (definitely a different brand) off of Amazon or some place that can deliver to my house.

I wondered if this bad mop experience was just me, so I went onto the Walmart Canada website and looked at the reviews for this mop. The average review score has to be one of the lowest I’ve ever seen on Walmart, 1.8 stars out of 5. Wow that’s bad. I just can’t believe that Vileda would continue to produce these pieces of garbage. Clearly, it’s not just my two mops that were pure junk, as so many people are experiencing the same issue that I am with the sponge head separating from the metal and becoming unusable after one or two uses. According to some reviewers and some older people that I know, these used to be good and durable mops so I don’t know what exactly went wrong, but Vileda needs to get it together and stop producing mops that will end up in the landfill almost immediately. There is no way to recycle these junk mops, so they’re just a pile of garbage and a big waste.

Update March 21, 2018

I filled in a customer contact form on the Vileda website a few weeks ago. Eventually, a representative from Vileda emailed me and asked me to provide a receipt and pictures of the defective bee mop head. I told them that I would have to dig for the receipt and I was annoyed that I had already had to waste this much time (for a second time as my first bee mop failed as well). I sent them pictures. They claimed that my warranty had expired (how could they tell this without a receipt?) and that this was not a normal problem for bee mops (are they ignoring all the reviews out there online of their bee mop?!). Nevertheless, they said they would send me coupons that should be enough to purchase a refill head for the bee mop (they said on average they were $9.00 in Canada). They actually did send me the coupons ($5 and two $2) and I bought a refill for the bee mop (it was well within price range at Canadian Tire). I appreciate that Vileda was willing to let me try their product again and that they will at least stand behind their products to some degree. I have yet to test the new mop head, but I’m not optimistic that the third time will be the charm.

Forever 21's Disposable Leggings

Technically, this is not overpackaging, but since it adds to the planet's garbage situation, I'm putting it in my blog. When I was shopping in Vancouver during Boxing Week, I purchased a few pairs of Forever 21 leggings. They were not on sale, but cheap ($6.90 plus tax each in Canadian dollars). I didn't expect them to be stellar, but just kind of basic, something that would last me a while. The last two pairs I had from Forever 21 weren't fantastic, but they lasted a while and for the price were not that bad.

I wore one of the new pairs of leggings the next day while I was out shopping. Not only was I disappointed that the leggings kept falling down because their waistband elastic was crappy, but towards the end of the day, I looked down and on one leg, there was a line of tiny holes all the way up the seam of the leggings! One wear and they were ruined.

I took them into Forever 21 the next day to return them, as they were clearly defective. I mean the sign in the store didn't say "disposable leggings" or "wear them once then throw them out- never do laundry again." I brought the other two pairs of leggings with me as I figured that they would be just as defective and disappointing and I was not willing to take a chance on them.

The store clerk told me point blank that they don't do returns at Forever 21, so I could have a store credit. Excuse me?! So, Forever 21 sells defective merchandise and then you're expected to buy something else shitty from them with a store credit? I don't think so. I pointed out to the clerk that since the leggings were defective and not regular merchandise, any store policies would not apply (read the Sale of Goods Act, people!). She looked surprised, as if no one had ever demanded a full refund before. She told me that sometimes the leggings get holes in them when you pull them up. So how exactly are you supposed get leggings on if you don't pull them up, telekinesis? Since I was not buying this bullshit, she went to find her manager.

My husband and I were standing there for a while, during which time, I snapped a hasty picture of the ruined single use leggings. It's not the greatest picture, but does show some of the many holes along the seam of one leg.

This is just a small sampling of the holes that went all the way down the seam of my right leg, but not my left.

She returned and said she would give me a refund in cash, since they had no way of putting the sum back onto my credit card (yeah, so I guess everyone else with this defective disposable shit just accepts the store credit?). I took the cash and refused her offer to find something else in this temple of garbage. No thank you.

So, if you ever end up with defective merchandise, take it back and make companies produce better items that won't end up in the landfill immediately. Demand your money back. Defective merchandise is not the same as regular merchandise and can never be treated the same under store policies if they have restrictive return policies. If we don't speak up as consumers, companies are just going to continue producing and selling us garbage.

Single use leggings are a waste and I refuse to let companies like Forever 21 get away with this.