In Honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Payless ShoeSource Supports the Cause With $2 Earring Set

TOPEKA, Kan., Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- This October, Payless will inspire shoppers to show their support for breast cancer awareness with this year's featured accessory item – the 2011 Payless Breast Cancer Awareness earring set primarily benefitting Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world's largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of non-profit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.  Once again, Payless ShoeSource, the nation's largest specialty footwear retailer, is proud to offer its Embrace the Cause item in all of its stores and online at Payless.com beginning today for just $2 – an affordable price that allows more people to get involved and contribute to breast cancer awareness.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060627/CGTU040LOGO-b)

"We are excited to continue to show our support for this important cause through our popular breast cancer awareness program," said LuAnn Via, CEO and president of Payless. "Our Embrace the Cause item priced at $2 allows just about everyone to join in the fight against breast cancer and demonstrates how just a small purchase can help raise millions of dollars to help save lives." 

Payless will donate 100 percent of the net profits (at least $1 per earring set) of the item sales to Susan G. Komen, helping to support breast cancer research and community outreach programs. Over the past eight years, the Payless Embrace the Cause program has raised nearly $4 million donated to Komen and dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.  Payless is proud to be a member of Komen's "Million Dollar Council."

The limited-edition earring set features two pairs of earrings – the first style features a light pink studded crystal-like stone and the other a silver-toned breast cancer awareness ribbon. The earring duo allows shoppers to mix-and-match earring combinations all while supporting breast cancer awareness.  To purchase the earrings set, consumers can visit all Payless stores in the U.S., Canada (where the item sales benefit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation) and Puerto Rico and at payless.com beginning today, while supplies last.

According to the American Cancer Society's 2011 facts and figures, one woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes in the United States and an estimated 207,090 cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur in the country this year alone. For more information on breast health or breast cancer, contact Susan G. Komen for the Cure at 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636) or visit www.komen.org.

About Payless' Giving Programs

Since 2004, Payless has established formal programs to support important causes by selling unique items and making them accessible at affordable price points and then partnering with shoppers by donating 100 percent of the net profits from item sales to a nonprofit partner. Through such programs, Payless also celebrates Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month by establishing the Payless Inspiring Possibilities Scholarships with the National Urban League and Hispanic Scholarship Fund, respectively, to support the higher education of America's minority youth. Payless also has an alliance with The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees campaign where it is donating $1 – the cost to plant one tree in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil -- for every reusable shopping bag it has sold.   The company said it has contributed $350,000 to date and the funds will help plant 350,000 trees. For the Holiday season, Payless initiated the Payless Gives Shoes 4 Kids program to, each year,  give more than a $1 million in free shoes to children of families in need in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and in 10 Latin American countries.  This coming holiday season will mark Payless' fourth year of this program and through 2010, it has given $3.4 million in free shoes to children in need through the annual giving effort.  These are among the Payless and Collective Brands, Inc. giving programs.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.  In 1982, the promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which is now the world's largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer with more than $1.9 billion invested to date.  For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

About Payless & Collective Brands, Inc.

Payless ShoeSource, Inc., a unit of Collective Brands, Inc., is the largest specialty family footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere and is dedicated to democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories for all to enjoy. Payless offers customers a range of well-recognized brands such as Dexter®, Airwalk®, Champion®, Above the Rim® and Smart Fit®, as well as designer labels by Christian Siriano, Lela Rose, Isabel Toledo and Silvia Tcherassi. As of the end of the first quarter 2011, the company operated nearly 4,500 stores throughout the Americas and an online store (www.Payless.com) and also currently has more than 100 franchised stores located in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS) is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide. The company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing. Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its nearly 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands Airwalk®, Dexter® and Champion®, as well as designer collections by fashion designers Christian Siriano, Lela Rose, Isabel Toledo and Silvia Tcherassi; Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle and performance branded footwear and high-quality children's footwear sold primarily through wholesaling, with its brands including Stride Rite®, Keds®, Sperry Top-Sider® Robeez®, and Saucony®, among others; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development, management and global licensing unit, with such youth lifestyle brands as Airwalk®, Above The Rim®, Vision Street Wear®, STRIKEFORCE(TM), Clinch Gear(TM), Sims®, Lamar® and LTD®, World Snowboarding Championships(TM) and Hind®. Information about, and links for shopping on, each of the Collective Brand's units can be found at www.collectivebrands.com.

SOURCE Payless ShoeSource