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“Feel-Good Marketing Without The Hard Work”: Woman Calls Out Nike For Their Amputee Marketing
Companies need to put their money where their mouths are. If you advertise a product or a service, then you need to be able to provide it. Otherwise, you’ll end up pushing away customers who might otherwise be big fans of your brand. Luckily, there are people out there who have the courage to fight for what’s right.
Paralympian, world champion, and executive coach Stef Reid went viral on social media and the news for calling out athletic footwear and apparel giant Nike and other companies. These brands use amputee mannequins. However, they do not offer the ability to purchase just one running shoe. Read on for the full story. Bored Panda has reached out to Reid, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from her.
More info: TikTok | Linktree | X | LinkedIn | Instagram | StefReid.com
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“Dear Nike, is it possible to buy just one shoe because I only have one foot?”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
“Two friends recently sent me photos of mannequins in Nike stores with running blades. And I thought this was awesome. But then I asked the obvious question.”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
“The answer was ‘no’. They offered a one time 10% discount, which I said was very kind, but next time I buy running shoes, I’m still only going to have one foot, so it’s not really a solution.”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
“They upped it to 15%, which I declined, and they then promised to take the issue to their ‘higher ups’.”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
“It’s been nine days, and I still haven’t heard from Nike. However, I did discover that other sports brands are also using blade runners to sell their shoes.”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
“So I asked them if they sold shoes as singles. Again, the answer was ‘no’.”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
“Now I love that companies are using amputee mannequins, but if you are going to use the image, you have to back it up in the way that you do business.”
Image credits: runjumpstefreid
You can watch the full viral video right over here
@runjumpstefreid I love that companies are using amputee mannequins. I lost part of my right leg in an accident when I was 16. I know how special it would have been as a new amputee to see a big sports brand using that image. But if you are going to use the image, you need to back it up in the way you do business. Of course companies want to brand themselves as inclusive. The problem is feel good marketing without the hard work. It has to be supported by changes in policies and procedures across your business. I’ve been contacted by three news outlets, so hopefully these questions are asked on a wider scale. In my experience, it’s rarely a case of intentional oversight. It’s just that no one has asked the question. #running #nike #bladerunner #amputee #inclusion #diversity #pov ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
“It’s really expensive and I’m going to buy this [pair] and I’m going to throw half away. This just seems a little bit silly. I would never have gone down this route but when a company is using the image [of amputee runners in promotional material], they’re making a statement that they want to be diverse and inclusive,” Reid told Reuters in an interview.
Meanwhile, Nike, which offered Reid a 15% discount on the pair of shoes, had this to say to Reuters: “At Nike, we stand for all athletes, and sponsor a number of Para athletes and federations around the world and work with them across all forms of movement.”
According to Nike, their ‘One Shoe Bank’ program in the US offers single shoes out of their Memphis distribution center. “Taking the learnings from the program, we are hoping to expand it to more geographies in the future.”
Reid’s video, where she called out various companies’ business practices, went massively viral. At the time of writing, it has 4.4 million views on TikTok. Meanwhile, the story was picked up by major outlets worldwide, including news titans like the BBC, Reuters, and The Guardian. This just goes to show that people really do care about the issue.
In a follow-up clip, which was viewed 182k times, the Paralympian also answered some of the top questions that she received from her audience, clarifying a few things they had on their mind.
It’s not just Nike that uses amputee mannequins to promote its products. Reid noted that Brands like Decathlon and Brooks do so as well. The reality is that if you use mannequins and images to advertise your products, you really do need to back it up with how you do business. Or, to put it very simply, if you advertise a single shoe, you need to be able to sell a single shoe.
Doing anything less feels like a betrayal of your customer base, and it’s also corrosive to a brand’s reputation and public image. It makes consumers wonder what else these companies might pretend to do that they don’t follow through on. There needs to be honesty and authenticity in marketing.
“Of course companies want to brand themselves as inclusive. The problem is feel good marketing without the hard work. It has to be supported by changes in policies and procedures across your business,” Reid writes on TikTok.
Reid isn’t the only one driving the conversation forward. Paralympic athlete Sophie Kamlish told the BBC that companies should do more. “Nike are using the image of inclusion, which is really cool. You wouldn’t have seen that a few years ago, but they’re not being as helpful when it comes to buying one shoe,” she said.
“It’s irritating and annoying because I’ve got these perfectly good shoes just hanging around my house that I have to throw in the bin, or not use at all.”
Kamlish told the BBC that she has actually found someone with an opposite-side amputation to swap shoes with. “But it’s quite a rarity to be able to find that sole-mate,” she said that she was very lucky.
According to her bio, Reid is a world champion (2017), a four-time Paralympian, a triple Paralympic medallist (2008, 2012, 2016), and a five-time world record holder.
She holds a degree in biochemistry and is also a keynote speaker, broadcaster, executive coach, actor, and fashion model. In fact, Reid was the first amputee to walk the London Fashion Week catwalk. She also competed in the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics and took part in the British reality show Dancing on Ice 2022.
Reid was born in New Zealand to Scottish and English parents but grew up in Toronto. She then moved to Dallas with her Canadian husband before settling down in the UK in 2010. When she was 15, she was involved in a boating accident and part of her right leg had to be amputated.
While studying at Queen’s University in Canada, Reid joined the athletics team, starting an impressive Paralympic career. She announced her retirement from sports in June 2022 and now focuses on inspiring and motivating others to “find their version of High Performance.”
The internet had a lot to say on the topic. Here are some people’s opinions
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What do you think ?
Anyone-for-tea? 8 months ago
The Solemate app is a great idea! Because you know if those big companies sell only one shoe, it won’t be for half the price.
Jay Cee 2 weeks ago
Solemates has been in existence for 8 years. Other, similar, organisations include Saysh (50% discount on single shoe) OddShoeFinder.com matches two people with one foot; Jo's Odd Shoes. There's this amazing search engine called Google - you'd be surprised what's out there!
Load More Replies...
Alro 8 months ago
2 shoes- too many for an amputee. 1 seat-too little for a bigger person. Who should pay for non-standard items? general question for debate.
Alexandra 8 months ago
Valid question. Shoes are a mass-product: any deviation from the standard leads, rightly or wrongly, to a price increase. Also, amputees are not, as far as numbers are concerned, a large enough group of consumers for most manufacturers to make changes for, again, rightly or wrongly. Lastly, the suggestion to just buy two left or right shoes makes the other shoes unsalable and so leads to the kind of waste we should aim to eradicate. This Solemate app seems to me to be the best available option.
Load More Replies...
Secret Squirrel 8 months ago
With the size of Nike as a company, and the incredible profit from each pair of shoes sold. Nike could easily eat the cost of a few shoes to support athletes with disabilities. This is not going to come up often. Also, the shoes are sold in pairs, but not produced in pairs, if it's not worth boxing up a few singles, you could easily take the shows that are unmatched due to factory defects of the mate to sell to people looking for one shoe. Either way accomodating athletes who only need one shoe wouldn't make the tiniest dent in their bottom line, but would do a lot of good for their potential clients. Seems like a no brainer, Nike.
Ken Beattie 8 months ago
I feel like the first company to do something like that is going to score a massive public relations coup as well. Think of the free press and the bump in sales it's going to generate.
Load More Replies... Francois 8 months ago
Even if Nike would make and sell single shoes, it would not make a huge difference in the price. After all, the overhead costs (storage costs, transport costs, shop costs, sale costs, design costs, production line set up, etc.) is much higher than the just the production costs. It would be rather naive to think that the costs of 1 shoe is halve of a pair.
OneWithRatsAndKefir 8 months ago
That’s true. If we presume a pair of shoes is twenty pounds together, and we need to pay wages, rent, transportation and et cetera which comes to be 80, the total cost would be 100… so 90 with only one half of the pair. Still very expensive, but at that point, the product is also about convenience; a person who only needs one shoe will either need space to keep a useless shoe around or need to find somewhere to donate it, so they might start looking for alternative products that only give them the one shoe they actually need.
Load More Replies... Smart writer 8 months ago
Nike employ slaves to make their products so im not shocked they dont care about selling one shoe
CatWoman1014 8 months ago
Why don’t they let consumers order/customize shoes? Allow them to order just one or two left/right and have it special delivered to their home or store of choice to pick up. If they order it ahead of time there is no waste
Upstaged75 8 months ago
The only problem is then Nike is stuck with a bunch of single shoes that they probably won't be able to sell.
Secret Squirrel 7 months ago
How many though? They sell millions of shoes, there are relatively few people who onto require one, but still want Nikes and there are always a few extra because of factory defect, display ones that have been damaged that stores often have an extra single, but they eat the cost and dont know they will have one. It would affect stock price or profits sending a few shoes from the factory to people who need them.
Load More Replies... Gwyn 8 months ago (edited)
Nike is run by rich dudes who could care less about anything but profit. They wouldn't even give their women athletes maternity leave until it was bad PR for them. They could easily afford to support disabled athletes in this way. There's a reason I don't buy their products anymore.
moggie63 8 months ago
There is only one reason that companies can't have a stock of every style in every size available to buy as a single and that is they can't be bothered. God forbid a company would do something that helps customers. It's our job, as customers, to buy whatever the company decides we should.
The Original Bruno 8 months ago
I first thought this was stupid; of course you pay for an entire item, whether you use the item or not. But a LOT of buying comes straight from the manufacturer's website, and it would make sense to offer some amount off (25%?) for buying a single shoe.
AspieGirl88 8 months ago (edited)
I’m a lower right leg amputee, so I can definitely relate. I actually had to have a shoe specially made for my left side, where the specialist actually scanned the shape of my foot to fit the orthopaedic shoe … which ended up costing just over £500 for the one shoe. I also can’t use a prosthetic, as I was immobile for 10 years before the surgery & there was too much wasting for me to be able to support myself, so a right-sided shoe is useless for me. I guess it’s a good thing I won’t be needing a new shoe anytime soon, as it’ll be quite an expense when that time comes. It would nonetheless be awesome if they had a line for amputees, though. 😅
Secret Squirrel 8 months ago
Could they not just use the other shoe from the display? There are always surpluses, that's how they get onto discount sites and TJ/TK Max etc. For the number of people needing only one shoe, it won't affect the bottom line of a single store, and certainly not the company if you require people to buy direct from the factory.
Eliza May 8 months ago (edited)
I think the idea of a banks for amputee athletes to connect and donate unneeded shoes is a great idea.
Secret Squirrel 7 months ago
But the athletes shouldn't have to organise and front the cost, they should just be able to get shoes, especially when Nike pretends to be supportive of people with disabilities. The chance that the best shoe for you also has an amputee of the other foot and same size that wants that shoe and lives where shipping makes it cost effective and doesnt mins sending you the money etc is an unfair and unrealistic
Load More Replies...
Christine Moon 8 months ago
It's kind of ridiculous that Nike won't sell single shoes. On their website, you can customize a pair of shoes and they are made to order specifically for you and shipped within a month. How hard would it be to offer the option to have a custom order of only one shoe?
salesforce masters 8 months ago
Thanks for provide great informatic and looking beautiful blog, really nice required information & the things i never imagined and i would request, wright more blog and blog post like that for us. Thanks you once again.. salesforce-course-in-hyderabad
Scott Rackley 8 months ago
Didn't try New Balance, they make some good running shoes. Probably the same answer tho.
D W 8 months ago
Following this rational why don't you ask Levi's to sell you jeans with one leg, or Fruit of the Loom to sell you a t-Shirt with one arm if you've had an arm amputation.
Secret Squirrel 7 months ago
Because 1. shoes aren't made in pairs at the factory, they are paired later, so you could just have a few that aren't paired bought from the factory with no adjustments to the machinery or process. And Levis would have to alter a machine or alter by hand to produce this. 2. Levis isn't using amputees to promote their own product and then refusing to accommodate.
Load More Replies... Anony Mouse 8 months ago
Very interesting, but it wasn't necessary to include a tiktok video. It's actually decent content, but please leave the tiktoks out. They add nothing.
Anyone-for-tea? 8 months ago
The Solemate app is a great idea! Because you know if those big companies sell only one shoe, it won’t be for half the price.
Jay Cee 2 weeks ago
Solemates has been in existence for 8 years. Other, similar, organisations include Saysh (50% discount on single shoe) OddShoeFinder.com matches two people with one foot; Jo's Odd Shoes. There's this amazing search engine called Google - you'd be surprised what's out there!
Load More Replies... Alro 8 months ago
2 shoes- too many for an amputee. 1 seat-too little for a bigger person. Who should pay for non-standard items? general question for debate.
Alexandra 8 months ago
Valid question. Shoes are a mass-product: any deviation from the standard leads, rightly or wrongly, to a price increase. Also, amputees are not, as far as numbers are concerned, a large enough group of consumers for most manufacturers to make changes for, again, rightly or wrongly. Lastly, the suggestion to just buy two left or right shoes makes the other shoes unsalable and so leads to the kind of waste we should aim to eradicate. This Solemate app seems to me to be the best available option.
Load More Replies... Secret Squirrel 8 months ago
With the size of Nike as a company, and the incredible profit from each pair of shoes sold. Nike could easily eat the cost of a few shoes to support athletes with disabilities. This is not going to come up often. Also, the shoes are sold in pairs, but not produced in pairs, if it's not worth boxing up a few singles, you could easily take the shows that are unmatched due to factory defects of the mate to sell to people looking for one shoe. Either way accomodating athletes who only need one shoe wouldn't make the tiniest dent in their bottom line, but would do a lot of good for their potential clients. Seems like a no brainer, Nike.
Ken Beattie 8 months ago
I feel like the first company to do something like that is going to score a massive public relations coup as well. Think of the free press and the bump in sales it's going to generate.
Load More Replies... Francois 8 months ago
Even if Nike would make and sell single shoes, it would not make a huge difference in the price. After all, the overhead costs (storage costs, transport costs, shop costs, sale costs, design costs, production line set up, etc.) is much higher than the just the production costs. It would be rather naive to think that the costs of 1 shoe is halve of a pair.
OneWithRatsAndKefir 8 months ago
That’s true. If we presume a pair of shoes is twenty pounds together, and we need to pay wages, rent, transportation and et cetera which comes to be 80, the total cost would be 100… so 90 with only one half of the pair. Still very expensive, but at that point, the product is also about convenience; a person who only needs one shoe will either need space to keep a useless shoe around or need to find somewhere to donate it, so they might start looking for alternative products that only give them the one shoe they actually need.
Load More Replies... Smart writer 8 months ago
Nike employ slaves to make their products so im not shocked they dont care about selling one shoe
CatWoman1014 8 months ago
Why don’t they let consumers order/customize shoes? Allow them to order just one or two left/right and have it special delivered to their home or store of choice to pick up. If they order it ahead of time there is no waste
Upstaged75 8 months ago
The only problem is then Nike is stuck with a bunch of single shoes that they probably won't be able to sell.
Secret Squirrel 7 months ago
How many though? They sell millions of shoes, there are relatively few people who onto require one, but still want Nikes and there are always a few extra because of factory defect, display ones that have been damaged that stores often have an extra single, but they eat the cost and dont know they will have one. It would affect stock price or profits sending a few shoes from the factory to people who need them.
Load More Replies... Gwyn 8 months ago (edited)
Nike is run by rich dudes who could care less about anything but profit. They wouldn't even give their women athletes maternity leave until it was bad PR for them. They could easily afford to support disabled athletes in this way. There's a reason I don't buy their products anymore.
moggie63 8 months ago
There is only one reason that companies can't have a stock of every style in every size available to buy as a single and that is they can't be bothered. God forbid a company would do something that helps customers. It's our job, as customers, to buy whatever the company decides we should.
The Original Bruno 8 months ago
I first thought this was stupid; of course you pay for an entire item, whether you use the item or not. But a LOT of buying comes straight from the manufacturer's website, and it would make sense to offer some amount off (25%?) for buying a single shoe.
AspieGirl88 8 months ago (edited)
I’m a lower right leg amputee, so I can definitely relate. I actually had to have a shoe specially made for my left side, where the specialist actually scanned the shape of my foot to fit the orthopaedic shoe … which ended up costing just over £500 for the one shoe. I also can’t use a prosthetic, as I was immobile for 10 years before the surgery & there was too much wasting for me to be able to support myself, so a right-sided shoe is useless for me. I guess it’s a good thing I won’t be needing a new shoe anytime soon, as it’ll be quite an expense when that time comes. It would nonetheless be awesome if they had a line for amputees, though. 😅
Secret Squirrel 8 months ago
Could they not just use the other shoe from the display? There are always surpluses, that's how they get onto discount sites and TJ/TK Max etc. For the number of people needing only one shoe, it won't affect the bottom line of a single store, and certainly not the company if you require people to buy direct from the factory.
Eliza May 8 months ago (edited)
I think the idea of a banks for amputee athletes to connect and donate unneeded shoes is a great idea.
Secret Squirrel 7 months ago
But the athletes shouldn't have to organise and front the cost, they should just be able to get shoes, especially when Nike pretends to be supportive of people with disabilities. The chance that the best shoe for you also has an amputee of the other foot and same size that wants that shoe and lives where shipping makes it cost effective and doesnt mins sending you the money etc is an unfair and unrealistic
Load More Replies... Christine Moon 8 months ago
It's kind of ridiculous that Nike won't sell single shoes. On their website, you can customize a pair of shoes and they are made to order specifically for you and shipped within a month. How hard would it be to offer the option to have a custom order of only one shoe?
salesforce masters 8 months ago
Thanks for provide great informatic and looking beautiful blog, really nice required information & the things i never imagined and i would request, wright more blog and blog post like that for us. Thanks you once again.. salesforce-course-in-hyderabad
Scott Rackley 8 months ago
Didn't try New Balance, they make some good running shoes. Probably the same answer tho.
D W 8 months ago
Following this rational why don't you ask Levi's to sell you jeans with one leg, or Fruit of the Loom to sell you a t-Shirt with one arm if you've had an arm amputation.
Secret Squirrel 7 months ago
Because 1. shoes aren't made in pairs at the factory, they are paired later, so you could just have a few that aren't paired bought from the factory with no adjustments to the machinery or process. And Levis would have to alter a machine or alter by hand to produce this. 2. Levis isn't using amputees to promote their own product and then refusing to accommodate.
Load More Replies... Anony Mouse 8 months ago
Very interesting, but it wasn't necessary to include a tiktok video. It's actually decent content, but please leave the tiktoks out. They add nothing.
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