I need to interrupt my normal posts about storytelling and the use of improv in learning design, to ask this question: What do I do with these shoes? First, I was never a shoe person. I had only the pairs I needed - black dress shoes that matched everything, winter boots, a few pairs of casual shoes, and sneakers. And then I worked at a shoe company! (Now called Caleres, formerly Brown Shoe when I worked there.) And lo and behold, my feet were the sample size! At one point I had close to 70 pairs. But I believe this pair was one of three pairs of Dr. Scholl's Shoes I bought at Nordstrom before I started at the company. During the pandemic the shoes in my closet never came out to play – I pretty much wore the same 3-5 pairs because there was no place to go. So, imagine my surprise when I pulled these out the other day and they looked like this! They certainly didn’t wear out because I wore them too much! And I thought “What do I do? Goodwill doesn’t want them. They are still wearable since they are not uncomfortable, and I hate to throw them in a landfill, but I guess I have no choice.” I am happy to see from their website that my former colleagues at Caleres, Inc. are making it their mission to use sustainable and recycled materials and have been awarded a Climate Leader award by USA Today. Good on them! But it’s not just Nordstrom and Caleres, Inc. that are at fault here - it’s me! I need to be more conscious moving forward about what and how much I’m buying. Things wear out, yes, but if I buy things that wear out when they sit – that is just creating more fill to put on our precious land. And I still love these shoes. :(
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