Soles4Souls Inc., an organization dedicated to giving away footwear to the needy worldwide, announced in a press statement that the charity is actively looking for safety footwear to donate to people in need.

The charity says it offers a “green” choice for manufacturers or workers who are looking to get rid of new or gently worn work boots and safety shoes.

“Thousands of employees are required to wear footwear that meets standards set up by the Occupational Safety and Health Association,” said Wayne Elsey, founder and CEO of Soles4Souls. “Instead of throwing away shoes because they no longer fulfill OSHA requirements, people can donate them to us. These shoes would be very useful to someone else,” Elsey said.

Soles4Souls can provide collection boxes and flyers for companies where employees are required to wear safety footwear, and the shipping costs for sending the shoes to Soles4Souls warehouses is tax-deductible. Companies interested in the program can visitwww.giveshoes.orgfor more information.

Elsey said that Soles4Souls is working hard to reduce the number of shoes that are filling up American landfills. It is estimated that over 300 million pairs of shoes are discarded every year in the U.S. alone. Elsey said that if these shoes were lined up heel to toe, they would stretch from L.A. to New York and back over 20 times.