What are barefoot shoes and why are they good?
Photo: Nora Tabel
In partnership with Wildling Shoes
The negative climate and environmental impact of fashion have been the foundation of slow fashion. Ethical fashion, which is a part of the slow fashion scene, has also raised issues related to the rights of garment workers. Further, fashion's contribution to unrealistic ideals and impact on especially young people’s health has been brought the light and as a response, we see more and more commercials with a diverse set of models instead. Yet, are we missing an important component of the harmful impact of fashion?
What about the health of those who wear the clothes?
Let’s have a look at a part of our body that impacts the health of the rest. Our feet.
We use our feet on a daily basis and most of the time being outdoors we wear shoes (at least if you live in Europe and USA where most of our readers are). Your shoes are probably chosen due to how they look, maybe trends or what you could afford. We probably spend more time picking the right shoe for training and exercising compared to what we do for the shoes that our feet are going to endure daily.
Photo: Nora Tabel
Photo: Nora Tabel
Why do we have to be more aware of the shoes we wear and what impact they have on our health?
According to Functional Footwear, they did a small calculation of the force your feet are experiencing on a daily basis. You can of course change the figure based on your weight and the number of average steps per day. “Walking is 1,25x your body weight. If you weigh 80kg and take 10.000 steps per day, that’s 1.000 tonnes of force through your feet.”
Further, if we look at the amount of time, we might spend 40 hours at work and more beyond that wearing other shoes per week but exercising might only be 2-5 hours depending on how active you are of course. It is time we start to prioritise differently.
Feet that are often bare and have not been adjusted to shoes have a board and flat forefoot and toes that are spread. Your feet should look more like a triangle than an oval shape. Take a look at your feet now, without socks, and see how they are shaped when you are standing up. Are your toes spread out or not?
Wearing high heels or flip flops are probably the worst, disturbing the natural curve of the spine and can cause misalignment which leads to back pain. Especially lower back pain since in high heels your lower back is rotated forward and your whole posture is changed. Wearing shoes that cause misalignment and reduces the foot's ability for motion can also lead to knee and muscle pain and also tight calf muscles according to HealthWise Chiropractic. Of course, we don’t want to ban high heels, but at least we can look after our feet better the majority of the time we wear shoes.
You want to wear shoes that give your feet a better ability for movement, that support slightly but don’t put your natural spine in alignment.
Barefoot shoes are the solution, but what are they?
According to Barefoot Universe, the benefits of barefoot shoes are that they allow your feet to move in a similar way as if you wear barefoot. In other words, the front part of the shoe will be wider to give space for toe movements. Barefoot shoes will also have no elevated heel to keep the centre of gravity natural but also to make sure the connecting tissues are not shortened. The sole is also thin to keep the sense of connection to the ground (if you want to be even geekier, google the word grounding and learn about the health benefits of being connected to the ground). Barefoot shoes also let your toes be connected to the ground to help with stability, a lot of running shoes for example might have a sole that points upwards which is not good for daily and regular use.
Feels like you have learned something new and you are eager to make a positive impact on your health. Just remember that shifting to barefoot shoes should be gradual so your feet get used to it.
Photo: Nora Tabel
Photo: Nora Tabel
When you get your first pair of shoes that are healthy and good for your feet, you want to make a sustainable choice right?
Our recommendations are Wildling Shoes. Not only are the shoes beautifully designed and comfortable to wear (yes we have tried them) they are also sustainably produced. Wildling Shoes are B Corp certified, the materials used are for example organic cotton and organic hemp and the majority of the shoes are produced in Portugal under a collaborative environment with fair working conditions and salaries. Learn more about Wildling Shoes here!
And yes, of course, they have shoes for the winter season too. While the season brings more darkness and cold, you can of course stay connected to the ground you're walking on. Just as well as our ancestors probably did, but more suitable for everyday modern life. First-time customers get free shipping. Here comes the code: sustainableclosetWILDLING
Enjoy!