CBP News Release

C.B.P. San Francisco Donates Almost $1 Million in Shoes to Charity

(Wednesday, April 08, 2009)

San Francisco - U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Area Port of San Francisco donated 7,920 pairs of seized counterfeit Nike shoes to World Vision, a humanitarian charity organization working with children, families communities to tackle the causes of poverty. World Vision serves close to 100 million people in nearly 100 countries around the world.

The items were intercepted by San Francisco CBP officers, and the legitimate trademark owner for the shoes (Nike) has agreed to allow the government to make a donation and export the goods rather than destroy the items. The shoes have an estimated domestic value of approximately $244,480 and a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $992,000.

Area Port Director John Leonard said, “CBP is extremely honored to donate these items for the sake of children and their families throughout the world. In these tough economic times, CBP values its role working with private industry partners to donate these needed goods.â€