Warning: This is my blatant sales pitch for a hip new shoe company out on the East Coast. While I normally believe in controlling our consumerist tendencies, you really need a pair of these shoes!

If you still lace up a beat-up, worn-down, just-plain-falling-apart pair of classic Chuck Taylor sneakers, then I've got news for you.

Before you hand $50 over to a corporate machine brand like Nike (they bought the financially-ailing Converse in 2003), check out the ultimate ethical alternative from my friend Anne at www.autonomieproject.com...the new Ethletic brand (ethics + athletic = Ethletic!).

These kicks are Fair Trade and eco-friendly so your feet, social conscious and green lifestyle can now all get along!  Made with the same FSC-certified all natural and sustainable rubber that we use in our Fair Trade soccer balls, they are also moving to Fair Trade certified, organic cotton canvas and shoelaces in the coming months.

Ethletic shoes are made by adult workers - not children - in Fair Trade environments, which means the people who made your shoes are being paid a fair wage, have access to health care and micro credit loans. Each pair is stamped with the FSC logo on the sole so you can rest easy that your carbon footprint truly is green! (Sorry, bad joke, could not resist.)

So be ethical.  Buy Ethletic.