Naya(R) Eco-Friendly Footwear, Shoes.com Plant Trees for Earth Day With Plant-It 2020

ST. LOUIS, April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Naya, a new line of beautiful, comfortable and eco-friendly women's footwear, is honoring Earth Day's 40th anniversary (April 22, 2010) by teaming up with e-tailer Shoes.com and worldwide tree planting organization Plant-It 2020 to replenish indigenous trees in communities around the world, by planting at least 5,000 trees. 

During the month of April, when shoppers purchase a pair of Naya shoes on Shoes.com, Plant-It 2020 will receive a donation to plant, maintain and protect one indigenous tree in a location of the customer's choice, in the US or other country in North America, Africa, Asia, Latin America or Europe.  Shoppers can designate their tree in the name of a friend or loved one, and send the recipient a personalized e-card letting them know about the donation.

Introduced this spring, Naya shoes blend beautiful design and premium comfort with materials that are gentler on the planet, like chrome-free and vegetable tanned leathers, natural and organic fabrics, sustainable bamboo heels, biodegradable latex foam cushioning and nickel-free metal buckles.   

"We wanted to engage customers in Naya's celebration of Earth Day's 40th birthday in a way that is consistent with our mission of offering beauty and comfort, while doing good for the earth.    Planting trees not only beautifies a community and helps cool and clean the air, it contributes to making the community sustainable.  We hope that this will make Shoes.com customers feel as good about buying Naya shoes as they do about wearing them," said Naya's Vice President-Marketing Marci Ranger.

On Earth Day, Shoes.com will also donate a tree to Plant-It 2020 for every purchase made on its site.

"Many of our customers care about doing their part to protect the environment we all share, and on April 22 at Shoes.com, buying a new pair of shoes will take a step toward doing just that.  We can't wait to see how many trees our customers will help us plant," said Senior Vice President-Shoes.com Brad Adams.

Plant-It 2020 was founded by John Denver and serves areas in North America, Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe by planting indigenous trees for $1 each. The trees are planted in non-harvest locations on public land, and are protected by contract from being cut down. Plant-It 2020 selects trees with a high survival rate and if a maintenance plan is needed, one is set in place before the trees are planted.

"Naya's pledge to help preserve the earth's resources and use natural materials aligns perfectly with our mission at Plant-It 2020. We hope that this initiative will enable us to plant even more trees and make a greater global impact this Earth Day," said Plant-It 2020 Executive Director Michael Thau.

The Naya spring 2010 collection includes 11 styles of wedges, flat sandals, heels and ballet flats, ranging from $110 to $130.  Naya is also available in Canada and 11 countries outside North America, including China, Japan and Australia.  Consumers can visit NayaShoes.com to learn more, and interact with Naya on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NayaShoes) and Twitter (@NayaShoes.) 

(NYSE: BWS, www.brownshoe.com)

About Brown Shoe Company, Inc.

Naya is a brand of Brown Shoe, a $2.2 billion footwear company with global operations. Brown Shoe's Retail division operates Famous Footwear, the more than 1,100-store chain that sells brand name shoes for the family; approximately 300 specialty retail stores in the U.S., Canada, and China primarily under the Naturalizer brand name; footwear e-tailer shoes.com; and ecommerce sites for Brown Shoe's major brands. Through its wholesale divisions, Brown Shoe markets leading footwear brands including Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl's, Franco Sarto, LifeStride, Etienne Aigner, Via Spiga, Sam Edelman and Buster Brown.

About Plant-It 2020

Plant-It 2020 is a 501(c)(3) organization that performs worldwide tree-planting at $1 per tree, donates fuel-efficient cooking stoves to needy families, and provides forestry, soil, and biochar education. The organization not only helps reforest the world's cities and forests - they provide direct humanitarian aid by reducing hunger, thirst, malnutrition, poverty and indoor pollution while increasing the sustainability of not only the world's forests but also its people.

SOURCE Brown Shoe Company, Inc.