Month: April 2021

With new colorways arriving on what seems like a weekly basis, Nike’s Dunk Low has barely had a moment to breathe in 2021 — and it’s keeping up the relentless pace with a new “Green Glow” colorway. A women’s exclusive that’ll be available in an extended size run, the “Green Glow” combines classic Nike Sportswear motifs and materials with a modern-day secondary hue, making for a style that’s both fresh and familiar. Uppers display a signature “Green Glow” tone across the mudguards, eyestays, Swooshes and heel. This bright, minty green is accented with white leather toeboxes, quarters and collars, locking in a recognizable Dunk colorblocking scheme. Apart from Swooshes, branding is provided via an embroidered spellout graphic on the heel tab and a fabric Nike badge on the nylon tongue. White laces bring the top half together, and the look is completed by white midsoles that sit atop “Green Glow” outsoles.The Nike Dunk Low “Green Glow” will release via Nike SNKRS and select global retailers on April 16. The MSRP is set at a standard $100 USD.For more from the world of the Swoosh, check out Nike SB’s potent SB Dunk High “Maui Wowie” — a potential 4/20 release — and take a look at the peachy Air Huarache “Turf Orange.”

Teddy Santis has been named the creative director of New Balance’s MADE in USA line. Best known as the founder of Aimé Leon Dore, Santis revealed the news in an Instagram post and noted that he’ll begin the position in full come 2022. New Balance MADE in USA is a lifestyle-geared line, centered around popular models like the 992, 993 and 990v5. Each MADE in USA pair promises a domestic material value of 70% or greater, and is constructed at one of New Balance’s five facilities in Maine or Massachusetts. With Santis at its helm, MADE in USA and New Balance’s greater lifestyle lineup are aiming to build on a wildly successful 2020 — one that Santis himself played a large part in by bringing the 550 basketball shoe back to prominence while also crafting refined takes on classics like the 1300 and 827. Exactly what Santis’ role entails has yet to be announced, but he’ll likely be looking to bring his knack for premium sportswear flair to the company’s in-line models as well as assist with marketing and other initatives. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Teddy Santis (@teddysantis)See Santis’ announcement in full above, and for more from the world of New Balance, check out an elegant 991 with a navy and brown color scheme.

Nike hasn’t paid any Federal Income Tax in the last three years, even though it’s made about $4.1 billion USD in profits over that period. According to New York Times, the American footwear giant was just one among several corporations who were able to avoid paying federal income taxes, legally. “This continues a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance by the biggest U.S. corporations,” notes ITEP (The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy). “The tax-avoiding companies represent various industries and collectively enjoyed almost $40.5 billion in U.S. pretax income in 2020.” According to the ITEP, much of this corporate tax avoidance was made possible by the Tax Reform Plan of 2017, carried out by the Republican majority Congress and approved by President Donald Trump. This allowed large companies to significantly trim their tax bills, reducing corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent. Nike, and other companies, found it could also use tax breaks for executive stock options to “sharply reduce [its] income taxes.” ITEP adds, “Nike didn’t pay a dime of federal income tax on almost $2.9 billion USD of U.S. pretax income last year, instead enjoying a $109 million tax rebate.”Nike also took advantage of the CARES Act, a stimulus bill signed by President Donald Trump aimed at helping businesses and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It allowed Nike to “carry back” losses in 2020 to offset some of its profits from the previous years. Bernie Sanders also pointed out Nike’s tax avoidance on Twitter: “If you paid $120 for a pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes, you paid more to Nike than it paid in federal income taxes over the past 3 years, while it made $4.1 billion USD in profits and Nike’s founder, Phil Knight, became over $23 billion richer.”In case you missed it, the USPS could be taking legal action against Nike’s Priority Mail-inspired Air Force 1 Experimental.