SEATTLE -- We tend to take our shoes for granted. For most of us, they've become a fashion statement rather than something to protect our feet.

It's estimated that as many as one and a half billions pairs of unused shoes sit in closets around the country -- shoes that have plenty of life in them, shoes others desperately need.

It's also estimated that there are 300 million children on this planet without shoes.

In Ballard, the Market Street Athlete collects gently worn shoes for a charity based in Tennessee called Soles4Souls.

"We look at it as an opportunity to have a way for the community to give back to people in need," said owner Ryan Stauffer.

Stauffer has been part of the Soles4Souls program for about a year now.

Inside his store, the collection box is right next to the register so customers who buy new shoes know they can come back with their old, unwanted shoes. And they do.

"In fact, just this morning, someone came in with two shopping bags full," Stauffer said.

The Market Street Athlete collects 250 pairs of shoes each month. They're shipped to Soles4Souls, and can wind up anywhere in the world.

"We are 100-percent sustainable," said David Graben, executive vice president of Soles4souls. "So therefore we will not throw anything into the landfill. We'll reuse or recycle. Currently we're about 97 percent reused and only 3 percent recycle.

"It used to be that most of these used shoes went to underdeveloped countries. but now, because of the American economy, half stay right here in the U.S.

Earlier this month, Soles4Souls set up shop in Portland and gave away 10,000 pairs of new shoes that were donated by manufacturers who had overruns, returns or defects that might otherwise be destroyed.

For more information:

Participating locations in the greater Seattle area