News-Record.com

Converse has hired a motley crew of interesting artists to design versions of their Chuck Taylors for the Product Red line of clothes, shoes and accessories that raises money for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Companies from Gap to Apple to American Express have designed products for the campaign, but these shoes may be my favorite. They seem to run from $50.00 (not much more than you'd pay for an average pair of Chucks these days) to $90 (which, in my estimation, is way too much to pay for a pair of sneakers but not too much for art that's part of a charity project).

Here are some of the designs that caught my eye:

Chucks by Warwick Kay

Chucks by Camilla Engman

Chucks by Ana Ventura

Chucks by Grandpeople

See them all at Converse.com. Go to the "Product Red" section and see if there's anything you like. Ten percent of the proceeds go to The Global Fund.

Sneaker company Ospop is now making fashion versions of the traditional Tian-Lang worker-sneaker. Their version comes in many colors and is made without sweatshop labor.

Looks like a weird, sturdy little plimsol sneaker -- but something tells me the version that Chinese workers are sporting doesn't retail at $76 a pop.

Apparently some of that money's going to an educational program in the area of the factory that makes them, though -- so if you're socially conscious, serious about your sneakers and like having a pair no one else does, this could be a good fit.

According to Footurama the powers that be at Skywalker Ranch and Adidas have finally ackowledged that there's a lot of Star Wars Geek/Sneaker Fetish Geek overlap -- and they've created these to get all of them off:

That's right. Darth Vader sneakers.

You heard me, son.

The Darth Vader sneaker is, reportedly, a patent leather version of the Adidas Superstar with gold tags and lace ring.

Ugly as Vader himself, these things are somehow still just awesome.

Those of you laughing don't know the power of the Dark Side.

No firm release date but rumors have them coming out for the 30th anniversary of Star Wars.