The Original Earth Shoes Were “Must-Haves”

Children of the ‘70’s will remember the “original” Earth Shoes as being the “must have” shoes in their high school years.  The shoe with “negative heel” technology was hot then, though the young people who made it so popular weren’t concerned at all with its health benefits, but rather how cool they looked.

Anne Kalso was a Danish yoga instructor who taught for a time in Brazil. She saw firsthand that Brazilian Indians had exceptional posture, and also that their footprints seemed different than hers. Their heel prints in the sand were lower than the toe prints, something she later referred to as the yoga mountain pose. Over the next ten years, Anne took that basic concept and worked with a shoe maker to begin marketing her Kalso Minus Heel™ shoe.

Earth Shoes came to the United States when vacationers Raymond and Eleanor Jacobs in 1970 opened their store on the first Earth Day, April 1, 1970. A simple hand-lettered sign in their store window in New York City caught the fancy of passers by, and the brand grows like wildfire! Fans open their own stores around the country, and factories began to produce in the United States, since the demand far exceeded supply.  In 1976, store owners file suit over availability issues, and a legal battle causes the Earth brand to disappear for many years.

In 1998, Michel Meynard, a 30 year veteran of footwear design, secured all rights to Earth Brand from a number of people formerly associated with it, and a business plan is developed for Earth ® Brand with Negative Heel Technology™, this time for an upscale clientele. In 2001, the shoes were reintroduced to the retail marketplace to much fanfare.

In 2002, consumer demand for ‘70’s retro styling leads to the release of the Earth Classic Collection.  In 2003, the Earth Nature sandal is among retailers’ best sellers.  Earth is the hit of the show at the Yoga Expo in L.A.  In 2004, Earth earned the APMA seal of acceptance due to all the health benefits derived from its design.  The Vegan Society™ certified the Earth Vegan collection.

Earth’s newest advertising campaigns center on the fact that Earth Shoes are good for your whole body.  “Burn more calories with every step” is the new slogan, and it is backed up by an independent research study which concluded that you burn an average of four times more calories when wearing Earth Shoes.

If you’ve never worn Earth Shoes before, you might think a negative heel is uncomfortable. On the contrary, after the initial 20 seconds it takes to get used to them, they will be the most comfortable shoes you’ve ever worn.

Here is what to expect when you first put them on:  As you stand up slowly and stay still for the first ten seconds, you will initially feel like you’re leaning back. In the next ten seconds let your body make its own natural adjustments. You will feel your weight shift over the center of your feet, your head and shoulders will straighten, and your core muscles activate, aligning your spine and pelvis, while your hamstring, quad, and calf muscles also are activated.

Don’t be shocked when you feel a little soreness in your calves, thighs, core muscles and back. You are simply feeling the physical benefits of Earth Shoes, as they help to strengthen and tone your body, and “burn more calories with every step.”