How limited edition sneakers designed by Kanye West are helping people breathe in China Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Story highlights As acceptance of pollution masks grows in China they are moving from function to high-fashion One Chinese designer is now turning high-end sneakers into masks that pack a punch Unusual material He created what was possibly one of the most sought-after pollution masks ever made, using a pair of Kanye West-designed, limited edition Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2s. A pair of the coveted sneakers reportedly once resold on eBay for $10,000. Read: Kanye's Yeezy sneakers sell out The 34-year-old had previously worked as a graphic designer at Puma and Saatchi&Saatchi and having created his own custom-made pair of Nikes inspired by the Chinese New Year horoscope, he decided to turn his passion for tinkering with sneakers into something more practical. Future plans Puma has now featured his work in one of its global campaigns and watch company Swatch recently asked him to create a bespoke mask for one of its ads.

SHANGHAI — Nike Inc. admitted that some of its sneakers sold in China were inaccurately marketed, after state television accused the company of making false claims in a high-profile broadcast. The claims were leveled during CCTV’s annual March 15 or “315” broadcast, which coincides with World Consumer Rights Day and often targets multinational companies. nike off road shoesThe broadcaster said that a model of Nike’s Kobe basketball shoes was advertised as containing its signature “zoom air” cushion.where to buy original nike shoes in hong kong In a statement, Nikenike hi tops trainers said 300 pairs of its Nike Hyperdunk 2008 FTB basketball shoe were sold in China last April “with an inaccurate product description stating that the shoe contained air bags.” new arrival nike basketball shoes 2012

The company said it apologized to affected consumers and offered refunds. Nike said Wednesday it “will fully cooperate with the government regulators regarding their inquiries.” When the children crashed dad’s BBC interview: The family speaks.nike soccer shoes teal Megyn Kelly’s messy exit from Fox News.best running shoes for it band syndrome​ For the past week, as many as 30,000 workers have been on strike, disrupting work at plants in the southern China that make shoes for Nike, Adidas, and Puma. Their grievances are the same as those of many workers across the country: they’ve spent decades working for manufacturing plants and now that they want to retire, they don’t have enough money. One of the biggest changes in Chinese society since its reform and opening is that the two traditional sources of social welfare, especially for the elderly, have diminished because of privatization and population controls: state-owned enterprises and the children of aging parents.

To help, officials passed a social insurance law in 2011, requiring that all employers in the country enroll staff in pensions, medical insurance, worker’s compensation, unemployment, and maternity insurance. But because of weak oversight of the system, employers often don’t keep up with their obligations. In over 400 factory probes, none had fully complied with the law, according to China Labor Watch, a US-based nonprofit. Protesters in Dongguan, which started this week’s labor unrest, claim the Chinese firm Yue Yuen—famous for having basketball star its factory in 2004— shortchanged workers regarding monthly payments into the social insurance scheme. The company employs about 40,000 people. ​ The protesters say the company is also making it difficult for them to cash in or transfer these funds. “Workers who devoted their best years to the factories are not going to go quietly,” said an employee whose surname is Zhu, according to the labor rights group, China Labour Bulletin.

A Yue Yuen spokesman has said the company can pay more for social security, but that will mean lower wages for the workers, and net earnings for workers would be less than they are now. Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials are trying to appease workers. As of the beginning of April, seven Chinese cities or provinces raised monthly minimum wages, but that measure may be too little too late. China’s aging population of workers needs pension money now. That’s one reason why the protests in Dongguan haven’t yet been quelled: one labor rights groups said that demonstrations had spread to at least six plants this week. Are these Nike shoes telling China to 'get fat'? CHINA - A Chinese New Year iteration of Nike's Air Force 1 shoe, which bears ideographs meant to express new-year blessings, is instead being ridiculed as an embarrassing cultural blunder. The words 發 ('fa') and 福 ('fu') in traditional Chinese characters appear on the heel area of the left and right shoe in the special-edition pair, respectively.

When seen separately, the words are associated with festivity, meaning 'be rich/prosperous' and 'have fortune/luck'. But when viewed together, they form a phrase meaning 'get fat'—a reversed blessing which is ironic, to say the least, for a sports brand. NikeStore's official Weibo microblog has seen an influx of more than 2,550 comments since the introduction of the new shoes. Responses range from the mild ("Excuse me?! to the more acerbic ("What kind of misunderstanding do you have about Chinese culture? Surely you have one Chinese person in your company! Otherwise, you can simply look for one on the streets!"). Nike seems to have made a more serious mistake than Burberry did last Chinese New Year when the British luxury clothier missed a crucial nuance of Chinese culture in a CNY-themed scarf. Nike has apparently not issued a response on its social media channels, and still has a promotion for the shoes pinned at the top of its weibo account. Campaign Asia-Pacific has reached out to Nike China for an official response.

Update, 4:30 pm: Nike China provided the following response: The two characters add two more Chinese character options to Air Force 1 that were already on the platform from the existing 27 signatures (Chinese Zodiac Signs, Figures and the Elements.) Nike iD offers the consumer to do only the same character on the two heels. So, it will be a pair of FU shoes or FA shoes. It is not very likely that the two words will be viewed together as your article suggested unless you design two shoes (FU shoes and FA shoes) and you mix and match them. We also make sure the character Fu is upside down to well interpret Chinese tradition. New Business Sales - Financial solutions Senior Manager, International Marketing Manager, Regional Retail Marketing Translator - Immediate Start Product Control (AP), 35k Start Immediately Top news, insights and analysis every weekday Sign up for Campaign Bulletins WPP China names successor to departing Bessie Lee

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