In January I heard about the collaboration between Jimmy Choo and UGG (two of my guilty pleasures). And I thought, “What can these shoes possibly look like?” I imagined Uggs with heels and fur lined stilettos. My UGGs are usually the shoes I turn to when my Choo’s have murdered my feet. Although the collection doesn’t officially launch until October, Nicky Hilton provided us with a sneak peak twit pic. Nitrolicious.com reports prices ranging from $595 to $795. Will this help or hinder the Choo and/or UGG name? Time will tell.

The company that is providing work boots to the armed forces (see the Daily 5 from 9/2) is expanding their factories. Where will these new factories be? I bet the first thought that came to your mind was China, followed by India or Vietnam. But no, they are continuing to produce their highly durable footwear in the good old U.S. of A. What refreshing news! It’s nice to see their patriotism. The 59,000 sq. ft factory, which is twice the size of the old factory, is located in Portland, Oregon. They also plan to open a store in the same city according to marketwatch.com.

Nike’s reuse-a-shoe program was started in 1990 with the intention of recycling sneakers in order to be more sustainable. Since the start date they have collected 25,056,779 according to nikereueashoe.com. The shoes are used to create new surfaces for sports playing areas such as tennis courts, play grounds, fields, gyms, etc. This innovative idea is not a brand new concept, but the ways people are donating is. Schools have been holding competitions for who can donate the most sneakers and people are starting to think more creatively. As their tagline says, “Trash today. Track tomorrow.”

FitFlop, “footwear with the gym built in”, is working on their e-commerce site by teaming up with DHL to provide shipping and other services for the launch of an e-commerce site according to postandparcel.info. As of now, the shoes can be found at Zappos.com, Amazon.com, and Macy’s just to name a few major retailers. But the addition of e-commerce is crucial to the business.

Sears.com is stepping up their game. With 450 brands, the “Shoe Experience Website” is an interactive tool that provides style advice and information and reviews about the footwear. The site features blogs and educational videos from industry experts such as Francesca Mills, New York Post’s Page Six fashion columnist and former member of Elle fashion team, and Brett Hoebel, celebrity trainer and creator of Rev Abs.  Prnewswire.com reports, “The new footwear experience is another example of how we’re innovating through content, not just technology,” said Nicholas Grayston, president of Footwear at Sears Holdings. “We’re tapping into the lifestyle behind each footwear category to provide our customers with insights and advice they can’t get anywhere else. No longer will they struggle with questions like the best shoe size for their toddler or what boots to buy for the workplace. We’re helping them answer those questions while featuring the right product alongside it.” You can even upload a picture of an outfit and the “Personal Shoe Shopper” will e-mail you back within 24 hours with shoe suggestions. It looks like Sears is paving the way for a new technological trend by enhancing the e-commerce experience. I like it!