Lucchese Bootmaker has launched a collaboration with Grammy-Award winning country artist, Chris Stapleton. The Lucchese x Chris Stapleton collection features three men’s boot styles, each in two colorways, that are handmade in Texas – The Original, San Antonio, and Old Friend, with prices starting at $695.

Grassroots Connect, the twice-annual retail buying show of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, will move its June gathering to Reno, Nevada, beginning in 2024. The summer event has been hosted at the Knoxville Convention Center since 2013. Grassroots cited the need for additional space as the primary reason for the move. The Reno Sparks Convention Center boasts over 600,000 sq ft of space and more than 374,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, as well as a $10 million renovation which was completed in 2019. Reno is also a popular outdoor destination with easy access to world-class hiking, bicycling, skiing, snowboarding, camping and paddling. The updated calendar for the next two Grassroots Connect shows now includes Kansas City, MO (Nov. 6-9, 2023); and Reno, NV (June 10-13, 2024).

The Federal Trade Commission has slapped a group of New England-based accessories companies—Chaucer Accessories, Bates Accessories, and Bates Retail Group – with making deceptive claims about products being “Made in the USA” and fined them an aggregate $191,481.

Genesco, parent of the Journeys chain, increased its $200 million share repurchase program by an additional $50 million. Since Dec. 2018, GCO has bought back 9.2 million shares in the aggregate for a total cost of $415 million.

White Mountain and Cliffs, two accessible price point footwear brands, have signed a licensing agreement for women’s, men’s, and children’s outerwear with Mirage Fashion Group. And starting in the fall, White Mountain will offer slippers and flip-flops, socks, legwear, and hosiery through a partnership with Iconic Footwear and Legwear Concepts.

Green Market, a heritage company with more than 50 years of footwear-making experience, has launched greenReActives, a new line of indoor-outdoor women’s footwear that’s part shoe and part slipper. The company says the “hybrid” footwear is sustainably made and is functional and durable for being worn on the go and comfortable and cozy for relaxing around the house. There are three styles available — clogs, lace-ups, and ankle boots that convert to clogs — in multiple colors and fabrics including flyknit, berber, chrome-free suede and faux felt. The uppers are made from recycled PET plastic bottles, and there are eco stories in the midsoles, outsoles and laces, as well as the packaging, with boxes made of 100% recycled paper, using no glue or cement, and printed with water-based inks. Brockton, MA-based Green Market holds the slipper licenses for brands such as Clarks and Life is Good. GreenReActives is the first brand name line that Green Market has created and launched.