I have always struggled to like, let alone love, the way I look. This is not something that is unusual for women in our culture, but it never makes it any less sad. I actually only think that the wide spread problem of this only makes it more sad. One of the sad things for me is that when I am in my core and not surrounded by negative thoughts I like the way I look a lot. I am proud of the curves on my frame and happy with the face I have. I am able to embrace the wrinkle that runs across my forehead and realize that it is a physical expression of my personal history. There is a strong pull inside of me to have my nieces, sisters, moms, girlfriends and all women in general appreciate, care-for, and love their bodies. It makes me really angry that these women get told all the time that their bodies are not good enough and that they need to make unnatural changes to their bodies to make them beautiful.

I don’t buy Dove products (they are not environmentally friendly and largely unnecessary) and I hate being marketed to. However, marketing is not going anywhere anytime soon and I feel that Dove is doing something positive with their marketing. They are reminding women of all ages that it is OK to love your body and that is something to be celebrated. Take a look at some of their videos below. Women it is time to stand up and embrace your bodies whatever their shape.

image courtesy of kixandthecity.com

Last night Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash debuted his new shoes. This time his Nike’s were a little different. They were made from scraps from other basketball shoes. I know that Nike has long been the bad guy in the world of footwear due to labor and environmental practices, but let’s give credit where credit is due. Nike has recently made a move towards more global responsibility and is now making the Nike Trash Talk which is the shoe model made from scrap material that is based off of their already popular Nike Zoom BB II model.

Nike footwear designer, Kasey Jarvis said: ‘I was really looking for a ‘here and now’ solution to footwear waste, and creating a performance product using waste materials felt like a very innovative solution. Using Nike’s Considered design ethos I was able to create a shoe that stands up to the stringent on-court performance requirements but is also more environmentally friendly.’

Steve Nash has been involved with environmental issues for a long time. It’s really great to see that he is taking that concern to his shoe company and that they are utilizing the waste that they create, and are making it usable. Nash said, “Any opportunity to promote the environment and preserve our planet is a step in the right direction.” If you’d like to get your hands on these, they will go on sale on April 22nd.

Nike still has a lot work to do to clean up it’s international labor and environmental practices.