Payless ShoeSource has announced plans to launch the first affordable green footwear line due in stores early next year and that it has signed an agreement with Summer Rayne Oakes, Discovery Network’s Planet Green fashion and beauty expert, author of Style, Naturally: the Savvy Shopping Guide to Sustainable Fashion & Beauty (Chronicle Books, February 2009) and Lucire editor-at-large to serve as the green footwear brand’s Eco Consultant.
   The new brand is a key part of Payless’s mission and strategy to democratize fashion, design and new ideas in footwear and accessories and to position Payless as a “house of brands” retailer, offering well recognized, fresh and affordable new brands.
   The forthcoming line will include on-trend, fashionable footwear and accessory products that are also green through the use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials such as organic cottons and linen, natural hemp and recycled outsoles, as well as the use of eco-smart packaging.
   The line will be seasonally refreshed offering the latest trends; the new brand will launch initially for women, expanding to include kids’ and men’s styles in the future. The “green” shoes will be available at prices, on average, of under $30 a pair early next year in about 500 stores with select styles appearing in 1,000 stores, as well as generally available on Payless.com.
   ‘When Payless approached me to partner with them on what would be their first-ever affordable green line of footwear, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse,’ said Oakes. ‘It’s high time a stylish line of shoes can be both environmentally friendly and reasonably priced. Payless is at the forefront of a significant movement bridging fashion, environmental awareness and accessibility—an undertaking I am proud to be a part of.’
   ‘The sustainability movement is pervasive today and is touching so many elements of consumers’ daily lives and they are interested in more and more green product options being available to them,’ said Matt Rubel, CEO of Collective Brands, Inc., the parent company of Payless ShoeSource. ‘But green items are often expensive and inaccessible to so many. With our mission to democratize the latest ideas in footwear and accessories, we are in the best position and proud to bring forward a green footwear line that is affordable and accessible to all.’