What has been the response to your line of affordable-yet-sustainable shoes, Zoe & Zac, from Payless?
S.R.O.: The vast majority of us need something thats affordable. Payless offers an alternative that is greener but within our price range. I think thats a really important step. In dealing with larger suppliers, they can improve their wastewater, use responsible dyes, and so on, scaled up to a whole new level. The Payless sustainable shoes are selling really well. We launched with a womans casual brand, and some little girls versions, which basically sold out. We also sold reusable bags for $1.99, with one dollar going to The Nature Conservancy to plant trees in deforested parts of the Amazon. The idea is to tie into a greater reason for the shoes, to make the connection between the product and the Earth a little more linear. Those bags sold out. We do have a fall campaign coming out in September, with new shoes. Theres this one shoe in it that could be unisex, and which I particularly like. Hopefully, down the road, well have more mens shoes too. E: Since you were recently in China an
