The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 234 — 👏 Just doin' the right thing
Nike is taking Roe into it's own hands
Gooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you all so much for rocking with me today.
Some Housekeeping: Friday's newsletter will be our last until August. Yerboi is going to get married. ❤️
Also, it’s obviously been a rough weekend following the Roe v. Wade reversal by the Supreme Court. This isn’t right. It’s literal regression, which is never a good thing. I know it doesn’t mean much, but I just want to send y’all my love before we get started.
Let’s jump in.
The right side of history
Speaking of Roe, there are a number of companies out there making moves in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn 50 years of precedent.
What’s happening: In states where legislatures have already banned or restricted abortion in some way, some companies are footing the bill for their employees should they need to travel elsewhere for an abortion.
Nike is one of those companies.
The details: The Swoosh said it will continue to provide “full family benefits” to its employees, which include abortion, regardless of where they are located. And should they need to travel, those benefits cover travel and lodging.
Here’s the full statement.
”Nike offers comprehensive family planning benefits. No matter where our teammates are on their family planning journey – from contraception and abortion coverage, to pregnancy and family-building support through fertility, surrogacy and adoption benefits – we are here to support their decisions.
We cover travel and lodging expenses in situations where services are not available close to home and regularly make adjustments to our benefits to ensure employees have access to the quality healthcare they need.”
This is good: It’s nice to see a company like Nike or even Dicks Sporting Goods step up. It’s just a shame it has to be this way.
It just puts women in such an awkward space. Let’s think about this for a second.
What was once a thing that could be done in private now has to be reported to a company as an expense. Which, honestly, just feels really weird and gross.
And then what comes after that? Abortion is an emotional thing, too. It doesn’t just stop at the travel and lodging. Will there be therapeutic services when needed? How does paid time off work here? Would someone be rushed back to work?
There’s also the fact that some states are even attempting to criminalize traveling outside of their borders for abortions, too. Paying for travel and lodging won’t stop that.
Don’t get it twisted: This isn’t a bad thing by any means. There’s just ultimately much more work to do. And it starts with these companies lobbying for their employees and using resources to attack this at a legislative level.
The facts here are that there are that we’re being governed right now by a body of people who don’t believe women have agency over their own bodies. They don’t believe women should be able to make their own choices and decide what is best for them. That’s not fair. It’s not right — it’s bullshit.
What Nike and Dicks are doing is good, but ultimately it feels like a stopgap measure. It potentially creates more hurdles for women to have to jump through. And no one should have to live like this.
We shouldn’t be setting this awful precedent for reproductive rights in this country — especially considering that this isn’t the will of the people. This impacts everyone. And it doesn’t just stop here, either. There’s more coming.
This is an important fight that we all need to be in on — not just women. So let’s stand our ground here.
Essential reading: Mad about Roe? Here’s what we can do now.
Sustainable footwear is too expensive
Sustainable footwear has run into yet another issue. For a long time, the struggle in getting consumers to purchase sustainable footwear was that there was a unique aesthetic missing. In the last few years, I think we’ve solved that issue through things like the Nike Space Hippie line and the Adidas Futurecraft series among other things.
So what’s the new problem? Sustainability is too expensive for people these days. At least according to a new Deloitte consumer report, per Footwear News’ Shoshy Ciment.
By the numbers: These numbers were jarring, to say the least.
As of March 2022, 41% of consumers reported that high costs were the main factor in their decision to not purchase a sustainable good or service over the last four weeks. 24% neglected these purchases because they said it was not a priority.
It makes sense: That’s a pretty steep dip and a bit disconcerting. But people’s concerns about inflation are clearly a factor here.
That same report suggests that 84% of the consumers surveyed were concerned about rising costs because of inflation.
If your choices are between buying a, say, a $200 plus sustainable sneaker from Adidas or a simple Superstar or Samba for nearly half the cost, people are naturally going to gravitate toward the cheaper option.
These companies have to choose: If they truly want consumers to target sustainable footwear, maybe it’s time to reduce pricing a bit to make it more accessible for the people. Of course, that cuts into profit margins. And that’s always the ultimate goal here for these corporations.
But if we’re really trying to change the world? That’s what needs to happen.
The LeBron 20 has arrived and it feels familiar
LeBron snuck in a look at the LeBron 20 the way he usually does — during his open runs in the summer. And honestly, it looks good.
Take a peek:
My thoughts: They feel…very familiar. These joints look like some version of the Kobe 4 which is totally weird to see on LeBron.
Through 20 years of LeBron James sneakers, I’d venture to say a good 75% of his shoes look and feel like basketball combat boots.
They’re also mostly high or mid-top sneakers. We’ve rarely gotten LeBron James lows.
This low-cut switch is very much welcome. They’ve also got some interesting design tweaks going on with an exaggerated swoosh on the lateral. Big Ambush vibes here.
The big picture: This is probably the best-looking Bron shoe since the…15? Specifically the KITH collab. It took a while, but we’ve finally got another aesthetically pleasing LeBron James shoe that you might be able to wear to the club.
We’ll have to check in with Dom Kennedy on these.
Your heartwarming story for the day
The New Yorker shared a documentary called “Bacon N' Laces” last week that the homie Sumeet passed along. It’s so sweet.
It’s about this single dad and his three sons who run this diner, which totally seems uninteresting until you realize the dad is actually blind. Yet he still manages to run this joint without a hitch. His 16-year-old son is his cook and he’s already been accepted into Harvard.
Oh, and they have 700 pairs of sneakers. Yes. Seriously.
This will definitely warm your heart a bit today.
What’s droppin, bruh?
Nike Dunk Low “Valerian Blue” — Tuesday, June 28
Union LA x Nike Cortez “Sesame” — Tuesday, June 28
New Balance 990 v3 “Moonbeam” — Thursday, June 30
New Balance 990v1 “Macadamia Nut” — Thursday, June 30
Air Jordan 1 “Stage Haze” — Saturday, July 2
Appreciate y’all for rocking with me. Once again, I send you my love. If you’re out in the streets protesting, please be safe.
Peace and love. Be easy. Be safe. Be kind. And we out.
-Sykes 💯
Appreciate you speaking on the serious stuff big time ❤️
Lebron's are looking interesting, but a big departure for him. No visible air is a switch up.
And how excited are you with the wedding coming up?