April  sees a huge jump in consumer confidence! We still have a long way to go, but it is always better to move forward than backward….here’s to keeping that up! FN had a great article on this subject which you can read HERE. Basically stating that it’s people who are becoming more excepting of the way things are rather than panicking. Panicking is never good and we will get through!!

Michelle Obama helps increase sales of China based  Roeblan Footwear Co Ltd. According to this ARTICLE, the First Lady was photographed wearing the “Bandolino Berry” and ever since they have been trying to keep up with the demand. They are not expecting a slow down anytime soon either! Good for them and note to all you footwear PR peeps…get your brands on Mrs. Obama!!

Lucky lady! JoAnn House of Neosho, Mo. found $11k in a shoe at a garage sale! I actually grew up about 60 miles from Neosho and “garage selling” was a weekly Saturday morning ritual. I eventually thought I was a little too cool to actually go to the sales and was coerced by my neighbor into to bringing along a Sharpie so I could change letters on peoples cardboard signs to read things other than what they had intended.  Think of the things you can do to a sign reading “Toy Sale”. Oh the things one will do to entertain themselves as an adolescent in a small town! Anyway, the article did not mention the brand of shoe that JoAnn found the money in, but did mention they were white tennis shoes. She gave the money back to the owner of the home and that was her good deed for the day! You can read the article HERE

“Nike runners go nude to promote shoes” is the title of an article from OREGONLIVE.COM. Nike claims their new Free Shoe is so light and flexible that it’s like running barefoot and then encourages people to take the next step to feeling free…running nude. Yikes..this would not be a pretty site for the average Joe’s out there…. They have a video posted on www.nikerunning.com which has received quite a bit of buzz, where they have multiple Nike sponsored athletes talking about the shoe while holding strategically placed objects. I have not checked out the video yet, but you might want to be careful if you are sitting in your cube!!  You gotta give it to Nike for their great marketing efforts!

Dow Chemical, Wal-Mart, and Grupo Ravi joined forces to develop the first eco-friendly woman’s sandal in Mexico called “Green Comfort”. They launched in December 2008 and sold 50% of their inventory in 15 days! Eco-friendly products should be promoted and sold in all countries, so good job to these three companies who are attempting to spread the green and raise awareness! Read the full article HERE