Exxon Valdez crash spilled 11 million gallons of oil into Alaskan waters. Recently Exxon petitioned to have the $2.5 billion in punitive damages reduced because it thought they were excessive. Exxon was also sued in lawsuit claiming their Indonesian subsidiary allowed their facilities to be used by the Indonesian government to torture 11 villagers.
Crocs makes really stupid looking shoes that have unfortunately become faddish. They can also get stuck in escalators leading to a very scary time as you try to pry your child from the ceaselessly churning stairs of death. Several injuries have been reported.
This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2008 series. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america/
STILL OPEN FOR VOTING: Google Vs Sony, Ticketmaster vs Wachovia, Facebook vs The American Arbitration Association, Comcast vs Menu Foods
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Neither of these companies block torrents….can I just vote for Comcast twice?
@egoebelbecker: Well, I’d rather vote for a company that kills living things on purpose. MMM Kay?
High profits from expensive barrels of gas? B-s
@redrover189: Why not? “I don’t think I should have to pay for what I did”. They made a huge mess and should pay the consequences.
Oh C’mon. This whole problem with the Crocs would be avoidable if somebody would just teach those damn kids to RESPECT THAT ESCALATOR!
Idiots hurting their feet on escalators, or a multibillion dollar company doing everything they can to destroy the environment it seems (they even take steps to prevent regulations from getting stricter too)
Hmmm..,
Also, I agree with the guy who said if it was exxon vs people who bought Crocs it would be a tougher choice.
“Idiots hurting their feet on escalators, or a multibillion dollar company doing everything they can to destroy the environment it seems (they even take steps to prevent regulations from getting stricter too).”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s an easy choice.
Consumerist is including Exxon for the wrong reasons. Their corporate anti-consumer and anti-democracy related behavior has a long and rich history.
They are likely to be THE MOST damaging corporation in history when it comes to misinforming the public, and successfully lobbying Washington for favorable legislation.
They underwrite several fake grassroots organizations that publish cleverly misleading reports about how the planet is getting cooler, why a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Hybrid, and how no one can ever prove 100% that greenhouse gases are from man made sources, so why bother trying to control them?
They have inspired people to reveal their misbehavior on web sites like [www.exxposeexxon.com] and [www.exxonsecrets.org] .
SourceWatch.org has an informative summary of what ExxonMobil has been up to here:
[www.sourcewatch.org]
Definitely worth a readthru.
I’ll have to vote against the majority here.
Exxon, a heartless evil company that is making billions of dollars doesn’t want to pay out for their oil spill. Besides that, I think oil prices are high, but only because demand is up.
But Crocs, a company that made a horrible shoe, proceeded to make it into a horrible fad, then balks that escalators love eating the stupid things.
For unleashing a fad on America, I put you in the same camp as pogs, digital pets, and friendship bracelets.
I’m voting for Crocs just to give a big fuck you to all of you who blame OIL for everything.
oh come on!
the Exxon Valdez spill was what? 20 years ago? get over it already.
@dirithmir: To paraphrase Bill Hicks, why don’t you get over Jesus, as long as we’re talking shelf life here.
@lorddave: Yeah, that’ll teach ‘em! You’re taking ACTION!
Well I’ve decided to abstain from participating in this vote. My neighborhood Exxon is always at least 5 cents cheaper than the competition… but at the same those otters are so darn cute!
Crocs are comfy and I don’t care if I look like an idiot.
Does that make me a bad person?
I hate those horrible motherfuckin crocs and everyone that wears them should suffer, but they aren’t nearly as evil as exxon. They just need to be arrested by the fashion police.
I feel soooooo much better about humanity now that I see Crocs isn’t winning! Stupid shoes, no question, but more evil than Exxon is quite a stretch.
Crocs are great in rainy weather, and I’d expect as many shoelace-untied accidents as croc-related ones.
They shouldn’t even be in this competition.
“ceaselessly churning stairs of death”. I just love that phrase. Really why should Crocs be blamed for anything when it’s really the fault of escalator designers.
It’s not like they’ve come up with any new escalator innovations since… well, since the invention of the escalator….
Some industrious citizen should get busy trying to make our ascensions safer and more enjoyable.
An escalator is a good example of one of those things that was, in a way, ‘grandfathered’ in, and you gotta wonder if it were being invented today, would it be considered a safe thing… [en.wikipedia.org] [en.wikipedia.org]
And oh, that totally reminds of this funny bit about how dangerous irons are
[video.google.com]
For a lot of you it was an easy vote, but for me it’s agonizing. Exxon is terrible (except for shareholders) but I hate those stupid Crocs beyond any reason.
FWIW… You need oil to make Crocs but not Crocs (well…you need the dead fossil kind) to make oil…
That said, I’m voting for Exxon. Crocs serve a great purpose as an idiot beacon. I ended up choosing another dentist when the one I had an appointment with was wearing a set of pink ones.
All of you hating on Crocs clearly have never tried them. I hated them for a really long time until my wife talked me into buying a pair. I still think they’re ugly, but they’re the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had. I’m wearing them now, in fact.
Any shoe/ shoe lace can get caught up in an escalator, parents need to get off the cellphone at malls and watch their kids. and they’re cheap to replace when the elevator monster does manage to grab them.
Exxon should not be making record profits and asking for leniency for something they caused. They made 36 BILLION in profit in 05 and are set to make 3 billion more then that this year. Not to mention that they’re spending more time and money on denying Global warming and lobbying then R&D of alternatives… Atleast BP is paying lip service to sustainable or zero emission alternatives.
Crocs does not belong on this list. Things got stuck in escalators a long time before Crocs. Now can we vote on the parents that don’t pay attention to their kids?
Exxon gets my “EVIL oil company” vote. Crocs are evil, but not oil company evil. If you or your children own these, stay away from areas with what I call “chipped wood” as a ground softener – such as school playgrounds. Any hard pieces that stick up will drive through the bottom of the crocs. It happens much more often than people tend to think.
who picked crocs?!
Gimme a break. Like JC wrote, shoes have been getting stuck in escalators since they first came around. And yes, Crocs are just about the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen. However, have you ever tried them on? They’re so comfortable that you don’t even care anymore about how they are. These are not fashionable shoes. They’re shoes you wear around the house, running errands, etc. If I want to look good, I pull out my 500 dollar Nocona python-skin boots. If I want to be comfy, I wear my Crocs. I think the comfort is simply worth the looks.
Just my two cents.
@ryaninc: Yup, you Crocs haters really make me wonder…
Yes, they ugly, faddish? Who knows, yes I guess they’re sold at Nordstrom etc, but as others have said they’re comfortable.
If you guys _really_ don’t care what other people think (as I’m sure many would say if asked) then why the hell would you care if you wore ugly comfortable shoes? Crocs hate seems even trendier than the shoes on Consumerist.