It’s a Zappos Family tradition that from the outside may look a bit, well, weird. Every year, just when the Las Vegas weather starts to ramp up for summer, we here at the Zappos HQ celebrate our fun (and yes, sometimes weird) company culture with Bald and Blue.

A Zappos tradition that started in our first Las Vegas office back in the summer of 2005, Bald and Blue has grown into a great charity event where guys and gals can get their heads shaved, and Zappos in turn donates money to a charity—this year being PROJECT WE. We upped the ante this time around by adding leg shaving and chest/back waxing for the guys, and even eyebrow shaving for some really brave souls!

For Zapponians who are really attached to their hair (including yours truly), we still got participate in the fun and team spirit with blue hair spray and temporary Zappos tattoos.

To make this awesome event even more memorable, we had some very special guest stop by—The Blue Man Group! They’re bald and very blue, so they definitely fit right in. These guys are a little on the weird side, so they didn’t think anything at all of people shaving their heads and painting themselves blue at the office.

photo credit: Jia Tse

In total, 22 guys shaved their heads for Bald & Blue, which totaled $2,200 donated to PROJECT WE. 12 brave ladies got their heads shaved for a total of $3,000 donated. The total amount donated from the event was a little under $10,000!

All in all, it was another fun and successful Zappos Bald & Blue event, and a few good Zapponians can start the summer off with a light, breezy hairdo for a great cause!

On April 24^th, Zappos hosted its second annual Earth Day Event in our Henderson HQ! We had 17 new and returning vendors join the Zappos LEAF Team in creating an awesome event to highlight how easy it is to go green.

Over 450 Zapponians hung out with us, enjoyed the sunshine, and learned about sustainable initiatives. Similar to last year, our metric for success is to teach each Zapponian at least one new eco-habit that makes a difference. Whether it is to use a reusable shopping bag or to buy brands that utilize recycled materials, every little habit or lifestyle change helps keep our planet a wonderful place to live.

We had all sorts of educational activities and giveaways for our employees. Our favorite: Repurpose America brought a giant earth mural painted by a local artist and hundreds of Zapponians used paint pens to leave messages of support for the planet by signing the canvas. The mural will be hung up inside the new downtown Zappos campus for all to see.

Special thanks to all of our friends who participated this year. Giant high fives to Zappos’ own DJ Ultra for bringing the beats and to our awesome Bistro team for grilling corn on the cob. We’ll see you next year at our 3^rd Earth Day party in downtown Vegas!

A Big "Thank You" goes out to these very special friends who made this Earth Day event possible:

Keen

prAna

Klean Kanteen

ChicoBags

EcoLUNCHBoxes

Whole Foods

Republic Services

Vegas Roots

Springs Preserve

Sierra Nevada

Vessel

BottleHood

Friends of Nevada Wilderness

A1 Organics

Repurpose America

Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC)

EnergyFit Nevada

Check out more awesome news from LEAF on Twitter: @ZapposLEAF and on Instagram: #zappos_leaf

Today's Zapponian Spotlight, Beth M., is a ZCLT rep on the graveyard team. So, if you happen to call our customer service lines at night, you just might get Beth helping you on the other line!

We decided to get to know Beth a little bit by asking her a couple of questions:

What brought you to Las Vegas?

B: I was living in Portland, OR and had just lost a job of 8 years. I came here to visit my mom at Thanksgiving, shortly after my Dad had passed away. By the time I left, I decided that there was nothing holding me in Portland, and job opportunities were probably better in Vegas. Plus, I was a little worried about my mom being alone, and I wanted to live closer to her. I moved here in January of 2009, and got hit with the lucky stick by Zappos in August.  Surprisingly, I love it here. I grew up in So Cal, and came here a lot on weekends, but never imagined I'd live here!

What is your favorite musician or band?  

B: I love classic rock, like Santana, the Stones and Eric Clapton. I also love Kid Rock!

What 3 words describe your personality?

B: Silly, off-the-wall, and happy.

What do you like to do for fun?  

B: I'm a home body a lot of the time! I like hanging out with friends, going out to eat, gambling.  I love to garden, too, but all I have is gravel now so everything is in pots.

Working the Graveyard shift means I sleep most of the day, and I'm working when most people are out having fun, like on the weekends.

I really look forward to Zappos events like the awesome picnic we just had because I get a chance to reconnect with my Zappos Family!

What is your favorite core value and why? 

B: #3 - Create Fun and a Little Weirdness!  Anyone who knows me understands why. LOL 

What is your most embarrasing moment?  

B: Actually, not too much embarrasses me. However, I went to a Harvest Festival in Oregon with a friend who was visiting from L.A. There was one of those sling-shot things where you launched a pumpkin and there was a target to hit wayyyy off in the distance.  I was pulling it back really hard for a good launch, when my friend thought it would be a good idea to pull ME back (to help). The minute she pulled me, my feet slipped and I was flat on my back in a pool of mud. When I finally got up, there was a line of people who watched it happen. I was horrified! I had to finish the day walking around with the entire backside of me covered in mud!

When it comes to office dress code, we here at Zappos tend to lean towards more laidback attire. And since summer has decided to show up early here in our sunny Las Vegas headquarters, the ladies in the Zappos offices are trading in their boots for some lightweight and comfy Crocs sandals!

See how these lovely Zapponians rock their Crocs in the latest summer styles!

Check out the featured Crocs styles below in both fun summer colors and wear-with-everything neutrals!

1. Crocs Huarache Flat, 2. Crocs Huarache Mini Wedge, 3. Crocs Beach Line Boat Shoe, 4. Crocs Really Sexi Sandal, 5. Crocs Sexi Flip, 6. Crocs Really Sexi Flip Flop, 7. Crocs Huarache Flip Flop

Just when we thought last year’s entries for the annual Zappos Peeps Contest couldn’t get any better, this year’s 30 “peeptacular” entries proved us wrong!

In the spirit of Easter bunnies, chicks, marshmallows and all things sugar coated, Zapponians flexed their creative muscles to create some impressive Peeps™ dioramas depicting all kinds of pop culture themes—from Justin Timberlake’s hot new “Suit & Tie” video, to the ubiquitous “Harlem Shake” phenomenon and everything in between!

The grand prize winner went to team S.S. with their ode to the classic Converse Chuck Taylor® All Star® sneakers.

Great job everyone! Can’t wait to see what next spring’s Peeps Contest has in store!

Zappos saved tons of building materials and assets during the renovation of the old city hall building to donate to Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas. 125 fluorescent light fixtures, 85 sinks, 60 solid doors, 50 toilets, 20 water fountains, and much, much more will now go toward renovating homes in Las Vegas. Our awesome construction crew at Penta Building Group carefully removed the fixtures and assets so that they could be reused.

Randy Corwin, Area Field Manager for Penta, said, “I’m proud of our entire team. From the start, we were focused and committed to reach our waste diversion goals. The donation by Zappos helped us exceed these goals. And the best part is, ‘It’s the right thing to do.’”

Habitat for Humanity’s crews spent three days loading box trucks full of the assets. Tracy Gray, Donations Relations Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas, said, “Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas is very happy to receive these materials. This donation fits in perfectly with our ReStore motto “ReUse, ReCycle, ReNew, ReBuild.” 

Our Zappos development team is thrilled that these assets will be used in upcoming renovation projects, and others will be sold to support Habitat for Humanity’s mission to provide affordable, sustainable housing in Las Vegas.

Zappos is composting! It’s true; we have partnered with A1 Organics to collect and compost the food scraps and paper products that are generated in the Z-Bistro. For the last few months, we have been testing the compost collection system inside the kitchen where food scraps from daily prep are separated and collected for composting. Recently, we extended the reach of the collection to include the leftover food scraps, napkins, and paper plates from the dining room. More than 1,000 meals are served a day - this makes for a lot of scraps!

Just to be clear, we are not composting on-site since we don’t have a worm farm out back (but how cool would that be!). Rather, we are sending our compostable materials to A1’s facility north of Las Vegas. A1 has over 50 acres of land dedicated to making 24,000 tons of mulch and compost a year from the food scraps collected from Zappos, supermarkets and Strip casinos, and green waste from many local landscaping companies and golf courses. After 90 days of processing, the mulch and compost returns to the city and is sold at local nurseries – a great life cycle story.

In typical Zappos style, we had a party to celebrate our composting initiative. The day-long “compost party” featured education from LEAF and A1 Organics and muddy cup treats from the Z-Bistro kitchen team. Mmm, tasty!

A couple of weeks ago, our friends from Chinese Laundry threw us one of the most memorable Happy Hours to date. As the official sponsor of the Miss Universe Competition® 2012, they brought all of this year’s contestants to tour our headquarters and cut loose with the Zappos Family.

There was karaoke, drinks, spin-the-wheel for prizes, and a photo booth to show off all of our goofy sides! And of course, it wouldn't be a Zappos party without some impromptu dancing! Everyone had a blast, including the lovely contestants!

Be sure to watch the Miss Universe Competition® LIVE from Las Vegas tonight on NBC, 8/7 Central.

*Photo credits: Chinese Laundry via Shutteryou.com, Matt Brown & Jia Tse