Final Project Idea Revised - Shoes

Feedback from guests on 10-30-2007:

(1) Comments on the possible format:
- Give the teens opportunities for decisions, where they can get to jump in
- Make it a game – a fun marketing tool

(2) Tips on how to move forward from here:
- Marriane Petit : possibly collaborate with Lower East Side Girls Club
- Find out Journalism work on this subject
- Ecological transparency labeling example – Timberland http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004047.html
- Greenpeace
- Jonah Peretti’s denied request on personalized Nike:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20010409/peretti
His email correspondence with Nike at
http://www.rtis.com/touchstone/apr01/08NIKE.HTM

(3) What’s been done
- http://www.howstuffismade.org


What has been done so far:

Two companies were contacted:
• 99X (specializes in footwear and clothing of British manufacture)
Adress: 84 East 10th St., New York, NY 10003
Email: ny99x@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.99xnyc.com/index.php

• MooShoes (vegan shoes)
78 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
Email: info@mooshoes.com
Website: http://www.mooshoes.com/

These questions were asked via email:

(1) Based on what criteria do you select brands that you carry (e.g. materials, labor, and location it was made)? Do all the brands you carry fit ALL the categories?

(2) What is the best eco-friendly brand thus far, in your opinion and why?

(3) What area of shoe making needs to MOST improvement to become environmentally friendly?


Direction we are headed:

We would like to contact:
• Nike (NIKETOWN New York)
57th & Fifth
6 East 57th St
New York, New York 10022
Phone: 212-891-6453

We would like to talk with children at the Lower East Side Girls’ Club to get an idea of what children look for when buying sneakers. Some sample questions:
• What do you look for when you buy shoes?
• How many pairs of shoes do you own?
• What shoe brands do you own?
• What do you know about environmental issues?
• Do you know how the environment and shoes are connected?
• If you found out that your favorite shoe brand was destroying the environment would you still buy that brand? Why or why
not?
(Note: I think “destroyed” can be replaced with another word since kids generally feel peer pressure and answer in a way
that others might approve of.)
• Everyone learns differently. What method works best for you?

We would like our final project to take on this format:
• YouTube video that compares Nike (or another well known brand) with MooShoes or 99X in terms of environmental and
social impact. This will ideally take on a story format and be engaging to kids and adults alike!
• This video will possibly be part of a website that will be roughly outlined with more images, facts, etc. that we come across
during our research. Basically the site will be a supplement to whatever content is in the video.