Around All-Star time a couple of weeks ago, Nike released... (kottke.org)

Around All-Star time a couple of weeks ago, Nike released a shoe called the Nike Trash Talk, "the first Nike performance basketball sneaker completely produced from manufacturing waste". The shoe, worn by Steve Nash in a recent game, looks a bit like Frankenstein's monster with all the exposed stitching; it's a beautiful shoe and I want a pair. The problem is that it's one of those limited edition deals...which means they're already all sold out and sitting on the shelves of sneaker collectors next to hundreds of other boxes of shoes that will never be worn. I looked on eBay and found two pair but not in my size. What are my chances of getting a pair of these at approximately retail price? I'm not looking for a collectors item...I just want to wear them!

Reader Comments

9 comments

Robert C. says:

The article says the Suns version of the shoe will be available at the House of Hoops in NYC on April 22. I imagine you'd have to go there and stand in line, but that seems perfectly doable.

Unless you really had your heart set on the All Star version. I imagine those are sold out. But if you like the Suns version, and are willing to go to the store on 4/22, your chances of success are very good.

» by Robert C. on Feb 29, 2008 at 11:08 AM

Matt Jacobs says:

Yeah, what Robert said. I would also keep my eye on Flight Club and Pick Your Shoes. The shoes haven't appeared on either site yet and they tend to be a touch over market price, but it's a lot easier than bidding against folks on eBay. Also, both these sites do a good job of weeding out fakes, which can be a big problem in auctions.

» by Matt Jacobs on Feb 29, 2008 at 11:25 AM

Shane says:

I like that shoe. I would buy it, especially knowing the use of manufacturing waste.

» by Shane on Feb 29, 2008 at 11:27 AM

Andrew Kueneman says:

I just found out that nike designers refer to the swoosh as the "Swooshstika"

» by Andrew Kueneman on Feb 29, 2008 at 11:38 AM

Josh says:

You don't have any connections Jason. You're a powerful blogger. haha.

They do look kind of sweet and i like the idea of reusing the scraps fallen to the floor. They look well made, but its gotta be extra labor to make these. I wonder how much more.

Good luck on finding a pair though

» by Josh on Feb 29, 2008 at 11:55 AM

judson says:

I like that shoe. I would buy it, even if it was a knockoff.

» by judson on Feb 29, 2008 at 01:49 PM

Alan says:

Why does Nike want to make recycling a flash-in-the-pan trend? They should make all their shoes from reused scraps, or some smaller company should make that their big focus and they'll be huge.

» by Alan on Feb 29, 2008 at 01:59 PM

E says:

Went to House of Hoops, and tried them out, and was almost set to get them... but aesthetically, they weren't for me. In photos they look great, but what you miss is how glossy the lower half of the shoe is, which just isn't my cup of tea. I prefer matte.

The version I saw had red accents, while the all-star version was gold + blue. I'd be interested to see the Phoenix Suns one, but again, if it's glossy, I'm not getting it.

In the store I did discover some nice Converse shoes, matte black with simple white and red accents, and a red outsole. I got those.

While I love the idea of Trash Talk, they just don't look good to me.

» by E on Feb 29, 2008 at 02:58 PM

Kent says:

There's a ton of potential here including clothes made of trash. One entrepreneur has already picked up on the idea and started a clothes line, http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mg5SaVARh4A

» by Kent on Mar 01, 2008 at 10:56 AM

This thread is closed to new comments. Thanks to everyone who responded.