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« March 2008 |Main| May 2008 »
We are excited to see a great new style in the store - the Dansko Sissy. This is a new style for 2008, and it is great for the warmer weather. Dansko has always been one of the best brands for the Pedestrian Shops, and we are excited about the new 2008 offerings.
The Dansko Sissy has circular cutouts dot the two adjustable straps for a touch of warm weather whimsy!
This great sandal can be ordered in our store, or on our newly redesigned website here
Our solar project was featured on Denver's 9News on April 8th. The article written for 9news.com in conjunction with the story follows:
Harnessing the energy of the sun to hold onto some cash
BOULDER - One local shoe store is borrowing rooftop space as a step in helping the environment.
Pedestrian Shops is located on Pearl Street in Boulder. The rooftop it's borrowing is a couple of blocks away, in a sunnier location.
Richard Polk is the owner of the store and says because his business doesn't have enough roof space or sunshine, Polk found a "host" building a few blocks away to set up a 10 kilowatt solar panel system.
The residents are paying Polk to solar power his building and he says it offsets his business's electric bill.
"There are a lot of good reasons to use energy cautiously and put back whenever you can. The state, federal government and Xcel Energy end up paying for about half the system, as much as 60 percent in some instances," Polk said.
The solar panels will produce about 14,000 kilowatts of solar electricity every year. That's preventing about 28,000 pounds of carbon emissions from rising into the atmosphere.
For the next 20 years, the solar electricity will cost 15 percent less than Xcel Energy's prevailing rates.
Polk says he's invested about $70,000. With government rebates, renewable energy credit payments and investment tax credits, the business expects to make half the amount back in four or five years.
"These are the things that result in change of temperature. Certainly pollution and a variety of other things," Polk said.
Typically you need a lot of up-front capital to finance installation of a solar electric system.
Under a solar power purchase agreement, or PPA, the capital requirement for building owners who have sunny roof spaces are removed.
Harnessing the energy of the sun is Polk's effort to make sure the only footprints he leaves behind are the ones made by the shoes he sells.
(Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.)
You can view the video featuring 9News' interview with Richard Polk at: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=89606
Pedestrian Shops Continues Earth Day Shoe Recycling Tradition -- Solar Energy now part of the long-time green shoe retailer's story
Pedestrian is known for its selection of the world's most comfortable brands of shoes and its commitment to defining its success (Green business practices) in social and environmental as well as economic terms.
Boulder, CO April 9, 2008 -- The Pedestrian Shops is celebrating its B' Earth day again this year with a shoe drive to benefit people in need. Pedestrian, Boulder's comfortable shoe stores were selling shoes 38 years ago, on the original Earth Day in the spring of 1970.
New or slightly used footwear is being collected at the Pedestrian Shops locations, at 1425 Pearl on Boulder's Downtown Mall and south of McGuckin Hardware in The Village, from Friday, April 18, through Monday, May 5. Customers who bring in a pair of shoes qualify for a 10 percent discount on any purchase, including footwear already sale priced.
"A purchase isn't necessary. We're just really happy to get good used shoes from people who want to help someone in need," said Lauren Polk, general manager of the Pedestrian Shops.
This is the Pedestrian Shops' (comfortableshoes.com) 40th shoe drive. It has been conducting annual Thanksgiving and Earth Day shoe drives for 20 years. More than 30,000 pairs of reusable shoes have been collected by the Pedestrian for distribution by the First Presbyterian Church Deacon's Closet and other community partners.
Pedestrian is known for its selection of the world's most comfortable brands of shoes and its commitment to defining success in social and environmental as well as economic terms. Green business practices are especially important to Pedestrian. Apart from shoe sales, Pedestrian considers its greatest success to be the recent activation of its 10.32-kilowatt solar power plant, which produces carbon-free energy equal to nearly 50 percent of the energy necessary to power its headquarters location on Boulder's downtown mall. The plant will prevent 28,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the Earth's atmosphere each year. More examples of the Pedestrian Shops' social and environmental programs can be found and commented on at comfortableshoes.com/blog .
"We believe we're the world's first solar-powered shoe store and we know we sell the world's most comfortable brands of shoes," said Richard Polk, president of Pedestrian Corporation. "I'm really excited by the notion that we now can sell shoes without leaving a carbon footprint."
The Pedestrian Shops encourages its customers to enjoy life and take a walk.