Sneakers Made From Scraps Have a Story to Tell: New Balance 574 Clips

New Balance Lifestyle has launched a campaign around a limited release of 480 of their 574 Clips running shoes in a direct attempt to solidify its standing with influential sneaker fans and bloggers. The handmade shoes are composed of leftover material clippings sourced from New Balance’s Lawrence, Massachusetts factory – the suede comes from their 993 series, and the mesh from the 996.

The campaign invites buyers of the shoes (priced at $75) to visit a 574 Clips Web site, using a 5-digit code found on a unique Polaroid photo included in each shoe box.  Once on the site, owners will find a Polaroid and video of each of the limited edition shoes. They are then invited to share that information via Tumblr, MySpace, Delicious and Facebook. This individualized approach is meant to play up the brand’s unique, all-American personality – which could be particularly compelling as a point of differentiation for sneakerheads. The 574 Clips campaign also marks the first work developed by independent and renowned shop Mother for New Balance Lifestyle.