Crocs, Inc. officially launched SolesUnited(SM), a first-of-its-kind recycled footwear donation program. With support from a network of shipping and charity partners like Brothers Brother Foundation and Feed The Children, Crocs set a goal of donating two million pairs of recycled Crocs shoes to those in need in 2008.


The official SolesUnited(SM) launch will be featured on Friday night's airing of “The Celebrity Apprentice” charity edition on NBC, which featured SolesUnited(SM) as a contestant task. The two teams of celebrities are challenged to encourage participation and build awareness that there is now a purpose for worn-out Crocs shoes.

 

Consumers donate their worn-out Crocs footwear at participating retailers, or send them directly to Crocs' collection centers. Through the SolesUnited(SM) recycling process, donated Crocs shoes are sorted, cleaned, ground into new material, and manufactured into new recycled shoes. Once manufactured, the shoes are distributed to those in need with the support of SolesUnited(SM) shipping and charity partners.

“We are excited to help improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world with a program that ties so closely to our business,” said Ron Snyder, CEO of Crocs, Inc. “Many people are unaware of the importance and need for quality footwear around the world. More than one billion people, or 1 in 6 people around the world, live on less than $1 a day according to The World Bank Group; through the SolesUnited(SM) program, we can help these individuals. We are confident that our enthusiastic customer base will embrace this program by returning their Crocs(TM) shoes to propel the continual growth of donated shoes in the coming years.”

Customers can show their support for the program by visiting the SolesUnited(SM) Web site, www.solesunited.com, where they can pledge to donate their Crocs footwear to the program when they are ready to be replaced with a new pair. In signing this pledge, consumers can join other Crocs enthusiasts committed to making the world a better place, by providing quality footwear to those in need.

Crocs has already donated more than one million pairs of shoes to people in need and disaster relief victims through SolesUnited(SM) in the past 18 months. Last fall 20,000 pairs of shoes were donated, with an additional 180,000 shoes pledged to the humanitarian organization Raising Malawi, co-founded by Madonna and best-selling author Michael Berg. Raising Malawi is focused on helping to improve the lives of children throughout Malawi.

 

A pair of shoes can make all the difference in a person's life. For people in need, a donation of shoes is as important as providing food, medicine, or any other basic necessity,” said Philippe van den Bossche, Executive Director of Raising Malawi.