Bandana Fever

Nike subsidiary Cole Haan has agreed to eliminate exotic skins like lizard, snake and alligator from its product lines.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Thursday that Cole Haan is the first maker of high-end accessories and shoes to ban exotic skins. Cole Haan, which is based in New York and Yarmouth, Maine, defines exotic as including alligator, crocodile, lizard, snake and ostrich.

Nike spokesman Nate Tobecksen says products using those materials will be eliminated across the entire Nike line after the summer retail season.

PETA has successfully lobbied Nike and Cole Haan in the past. Cole Haan announced in 2008 that it would stop using fur in its product lines.

Detroit police said a Detroit business owner ordered and sold fake tennis shoes to unsuspecting customers for a profit.The phony shoe operation fell apart when investigators closed in during a recent delivery.The shoes were sold at Source Apparel on Woodward Avenue near Downtown Detroit. The store owner, Cerhue Walker, was arrested.Police said the store was selling bogus Nike Air Force 1 shoes.Local 4 showed the fake Nike shoes to shoppers who found it difficult to determine the real Nikes from the fake ones.”They’re really good. They look like the real ones. You wouldn’t know no different. The Nike sign, the word Nike, they look like the real shoe,” said shopper Ericka Wilson.The fake Nike shoes are made of leather like real ones and the detail on the soles is very similar.Detroit police seized 500 pairs of the fake shoes before they could be released onto the black market.Officers warn that the fake shoes often sell for about half the price of the real ones. The authentic Nike shoes are priced around $90 a pair.Detroit police want anyone who bought the fake shoes to come forward to help with their investigation.

Rocker Eddie Van Halen is taking Nike bosses to court amid allegations they copied his signature black, red and white guitar design for a new range of sneakers.

The Van Halen frontman filed a federal lawsuit in a Los Angeles court last Friday, accusing brand executives of copyright infringement in regards to their Dunk Lows line of tennis shoes.

Van Halen, who is suing via his company ELVH Inc., claims Nike designers failed to ask his permission to use the streak pattern which has featured on his electric guitars since 1978 and was trademarked in 2001. The legal papers allege the sports brand’s shoes are doing “irreparable harm and damage” to his colorful design.

Van Halen is seeking general and punitive damages for the infringement, in addition to profits made to date from the Dunk Lows. And he’s demanding Nike cease all production on the shoes – calling for “the impoundment and destruction of all footwear”.

Van Halen actually has his own range of sneakers, which he designed with manufacturers Converse.