I'm a little confused about the whole "rotting" thing. I'm not saying I condone not wearing shoes, unless they are really special to the person or really rare. Everyone deserves to make the choice though and not be criticized for it. It's just that them "rotting" doesn't make sense.
Real rubber, like on Superstars, takes thousands of years to decompose, and thats when exposed to the natural elements. Those air max shoes don't look like rubber but this foamy like stuff that I have seen on a lot of Nike's (I hate it just for that reason--it doesn't last).
I have had shoes for 15+ years, and my parents growing up had shoes for even longer, and I have never seen this rotting effect, whether they were worn or not. Visiting the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., they had shoes there from actual victims. The soles were rubber, and the shoes were leather. These shoes were of course from WWII, and were not preserved, just in a large glass tank (not fully enclosed even, open roof) so people could see them. Even these shoes showed no signs of rotting, after being abused for 60+ years.
I don't have a point to all this, but I do think this rotting thing is blown way out of proportion. Does anyone have any Soops that have rotted? I think it's cool when people wear their shoes, but then again, if some are particularly special I can see why someone would choose NOT to wear them as well. Also, even if they were to rot, there is no doubt that they would surely last longer not being worn, which is important to people if they are really special shoes.
Just my thoughts, sorry for the thread hijack.