Ridiculous Item of the Day: Nike Creating Specialty Shoes for Ethnic Groups

Nike has unveiled the Nike Air Native N7, an athletic shoe designed specifically for the feet of Native Americans. Profits from the sale of the shoe will support Nike's "Let Me Play" programs on Native American lands (Nike). Nike says this is "the first time it has designed a shoe for a specific race or ethnicity". The shoe will be "distributed solely to American Indians; tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at the wholesale price of $42.80 and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost". The company plans to make about 10,000 pairs of the shoe, which researchers spent two years designing. Native American health officials and business people "praised Nike's efforts," saying the shoe represents "a good cause that can also generate good [PR]." Nike Shoe Research Laboratory Senior Researcher Jeff Piscotta said that company researchers "have developed a similar custom-fit shoe design for Japanese runners," and leading up to the '08 Beijing Olympics, are "researching the feet of Chinese athletes and runners to produce a better-fitting product".
http://newsok.com/article/keyword/3134283/

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/business/119077354650540.xml&coll=7