tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/shoes-15322/articles
Shoes – The Conversation
2023-10-11T12:15:41Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215033
2023-10-11T12:15:41Z
2023-10-11T12:15:41Z
Birkenstock goes public: how an ‘ugly’ orthopaedic shoe company created a brand worth billions
<p>Asked to choose between a brown Birkenstock and a pink stiletto, most people would be able to make a fairly quick decision. In this year’s Barbie movie, Weird Barbie challenges Stereotypical Barbie to make this very choice. To Barbie, the high heel represents a life of beach fun and dance parties, while the sandal means “knowing the truth about the universe”. </p>
<p>That the film’s director Greta Gerwig used a Birkenstock Arizona sandal to represent the truth about life says it all about this “ugly” orthopaedic shoe. </p>
<p>Birkenstocks have been the footwear of choice for the “brown rice” or hippie set for decades, but this negative image has recently morphed into something very different. As comfort, climate change concerns, demand for <a href="https://www.happyfeet.com/blog/birkenstock-goes-vegan/">animal-free products</a> and affordability have become increasingly important to shoppers, Birkenstock has also been able to entice fashionistas and hippies alike to try its flexible arch supports.</p>
<p>As a result, financial analysts predicted the German shoe brand would be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/10/birkenstock-expects-to-price-ipo-at-46-per-share.html">valued at more than US$8 billion</a> (£6.5 billion) in advance of its shares becoming available to the public on the New York Stock Exchange. Birkenstock’s initial public offering will be <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9243b631-7d6b-4dba-829f-baccf559fb5e">third-largest US listing</a> so far in 2023. Not bad for functional footwear that was originally developed to improve foot health. </p>
<h2>A family footwear business</h2>
<p>When the Birkenstock brand was <a href="https://www.birkenstock.com/us/us-about-history.html">founded in 1774</a> in Germany by Johann Adam Birkenstock, industrial manufacturing processes in Europe were evolving. The Birkenstock family used the new technology to design and develop footwear with contoured insoles to give flexible arch support for improved foot health. </p>
<p>But it wasn’t until the 1920s that affluent Europeans became more aware of the benefits of such footwear, leading to <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marketing-fashion-footwear-9781472579317/">exports of the shoe across Europe</a>. By the 1960s, the company was producing sandals. The Arizona was the <a href="https://footwearnews.com/shop/sandals/birkenstock-arizona-history-1203056685/">third style</a> introduced by the brand in 1973, after the Madrid (1963) and the Zurich (1964).</p>
<p>It was at this time that Birkenstock transitioned from orthopaedic footwear into fashion, helped along by entrepreneur <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marketing-fashion-footwear-9781472579317/">Robert Lusk</a>. He identified that the counter-culture generation wanted a comfortable alternative to mainstream commercial products.</p>
<p>Lusk opened <a href="https://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/natural-shoe-store">The Natural Shoe Store</a> in London’s Covent Garden in 1976 to serve these customers. And while Birkenstocks didn’t appeal to the glamorous power dressers of the 1980s, by the late 1990s Lusk had started <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marketing-fashion-footwear-9781472579317/">widening the brand’s appeal</a>. He persuaded Birkenstock to make new colours of its best selling styles, the Arizona and Madrid. This departure from Birkenstock’s traditional brown hues aimed to appeal to more fashion-forward customers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A shop shelf holding different Birkenstock styles and colours below a Birkenstock sign." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553230/original/file-20231011-15-fbr3tj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Several styles of Birkenstock are now available in many different colours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bordeaux-aquitaine-france-08-21-2022-2203548949">sylv1rob1/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Birkenstock’s ‘bubble up’</h2>
<p>Momentum continued to build behind the brand, but in the UK at the time <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marketing-fashion-footwear-9781472579317/">Birkenstocks were only available</a> from Lusk’s shop or mail-order service and a standalone Birkenstock store. As A-listers such as actor Jude Law and then-British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman started coveting the sandals as a summer alternative to another “ugly” shoe brand – Ugg Australia – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/jun/30/fashion.beauty">demand started to far outstrip supply</a>. </p>
<p>This scarcity effect led to <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marketing-fashion-footwear-9781472579317/">production in Germany being ramped up</a>. When a brand sees a spike in distribution such as this, it can turn customers off. But, unusually, greater availability did little to dent demand for Birkenstocks and doesn’t seem to have damaged its “brand equity” in the long term either. This is the value a company derives from consumer perception of its brand. Birkenstock’s <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/birkenstock-collaborations">collaborations with high-end designers</a> like Dior and Manolo Blahnik have also boosted its brand equity. </p>
<p>Birkenstock’s slow burn is an example of “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/21/4/480/1669810">bubble up</a>” theory. This is the opposite of the more traditional “trickle down” phenomena, where mass market designers and brands are influenced by high-end luxury and designer fashion. Instead, brands and designers take inspiration from different aspects of society, particularly alternative sub-cultures, reinterpreting original use. </p>
<p>Other examples of mainstream fashion successfully borrowing from and reinterpreting subcultures and original use include Doctor Martens and Crocs. These two fashion brands also have utilitarian roots and both went public with impressive valuations: Doctor Martens at <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/finance/dr-martens-hits-37b-valuation-in-london-debut/">£3.7 billion in 2021</a> and <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2006/02/08/crocs-roar-onto-wall-street/">Crocs at US$1.15 billion</a> in 2006.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pBk4NYhWNMM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Barbie’s journey started in pink fluffy stiletto slippers but ended in Birkenstock sandals.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Wearing your values</h2>
<p>American conservatives refer pejoratively to “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/05/weekinreview/the-nation-footwear-politics-just-who-really-is-a-birkenstock-voter.html">Birkenstock liberals</a>”, but the style has become associated with a universal nonchalance and quirky charm, while also representing “inconspicuous consumption” – just like other ethical shoe brands such as <a href="https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/business-case?docid=b-9781350197046&tocid=b-9781350197046-010">Allbirds</a>. </p>
<p>Thorstein Veblen’s <a href="http://moglen.law.columbia.edu/LCS/theoryleisureclass.pdf">theory of conspicuous consumption</a> suggests we use fashion to display financial wealth and status. Birkenstocks’ more accessible starting prices of £40-£65 send the reverse signal. Wearers are avoiding overt displays of wealth, instead communicating their taste via subtle branding, and knowledge about materials, form and function.</p>
<p>And comfort cannot be ignored. Bronislaw Malinowski, an anthropologist that explained social phenomena in terms of <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100128856">functional appeal</a>, said people want functional products to satisfy some or all of these seven needs: nutrition, reproduction, bodily comforts, safety, movement, health and growth.</p>
<p>Functional footwear addresses most of these needs and informs some of the most iconic, and valuable, fashion brands. Other iconic footwear brands born from functional origins include Scholl – originally worn for medical purpposes – and UGG Australia, first worn by surfers to keep their feet warm.</p>
<p>Like many other fashionistas, Barbie <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/barbie-birkenstock-arizona">chose a (pink) Birkenstock Arizona</a> in the end, highlighting how the brand has managed to synthesise function and fashion, even in an “ugly” form. Other factors, such as the impact of persistently high inflation on consumer spending, will affect how Birkenstock fares post-IPO, but the brand has certainly put its best foot forward for its stock market debut.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215033/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamsin McLaren does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It’s not just the Barbie effect, Birkenstock’s brand equity has been rising for years.
Tamsin McLaren, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of Bath
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212712
2023-09-10T10:13:38Z
2023-09-10T10:13:38Z
Ancient shoes: tracks on a South African beach offer oldest evidence yet of human footwear
<p>When and where did our ancestors first fashion footwear? We cannot look to physical evidence of shoes for the answer, as the perishable materials from which they were made would no longer be evident. <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-job-is-full-of-fossilised-poop-but-theres-nothing-icky-about-ichnology-182906">Ichnology</a>, the study of fossil tracks and traces, can help to answer this unresolved question through a search for clear evidence of footprints made by humans who were shod – that is, wearing some kind of foot covering. </p>
<p>But this is no simple endeavour, as our research team from the Cape south coast ichnology project in South Africa recently reported. Over the past 15 years <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.07.039">we have identified</a> more than 350 vertebrate tracksites along the Cape coast. These include a number of tracks made by humans who were clearly walking or jogging barefoot, as evidenced by toe impressions. But we also noticed similar trackways, seemingly well preserved, that contained no toe impressions. Realising, too, that very little research has been done about when humans first fashioned footwear, we decided to investigate further.</p>
<p>To do so, we studied relevant research from various parts of the world, using our knowledge about milestones in human technological development such as when and where our ancestors had the technology to create <a href="https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2001.0515">bone tools</a> which could have been used for sewing. </p>
<p>We also considered the areas where ancient hominin tracks have been reported. This revealed that there are two prime places on the planet to look for footprint evidence of early shod hominins: western Europe and the Cape coast of South Africa. We followed up with a little crafting of our own to create the types of footwear that might have been worn. Most of the tracksites we have found are between about 70,000 years and 150,000 years in age, so that is the time period we focused on.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2023.2249585?src=">Our findings</a>, recently published in the journal <em>Ichnos</em>, suggest that there are at least three tracksites on the Cape south coast that might have been made by shod humans (a fourth site unfortunately rapidly deteriorated in quality and slumped into the sea). The global record of sites attributed to shod trackmakers is sparse. Until now, only four sites older than 30,000 years have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02127-z">postulated</a>, all from western Europe, including a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901789116">Neanderthal site</a>.</p>
<p>Though the evidence is not conclusive, we are excited about our discoveries. They support the notion of southern Africa being one region where human cognitive and practical ability developed a very long time ago.</p>
<h2>The study</h2>
<p>We considered the published studies on possible shod-human tracks from western Europe, and searched the Cape coast for similar sites. Today, the ancient dune surfaces our ancestors walked along are cemented and preserved as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(01)00054-X">aeolianites</a>. We have previously reported on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/8156">tracks of our barefoot <em>Homo sapiens</em> ancestors</a> along this coastline and now focused on three sites which appeared to be of hominin origin and were crisply outlined, but contained no evidence of toe impressions.</p>
<p>Next, we drew on our knowledge of sandals used by the indigenous San people on the sands of the Kalahari desert to give us ideas about what ancient footwear might have looked like. After studying museum specimens, depictions of footwear in the San rock art record and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.281.5373.72">the oldest</a> surviving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010984">examples</a> of footwear, it was time to do a little cobbling. </p>
<p>We crafted various types of footwear and used them to create trackways on the beaches and dunes of the Cape south coast; then we analysed them. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/graffiti-threatens-precious-evidence-of-ancient-life-on-south-africas-coast-157777">Graffiti threatens precious evidence of ancient life on South Africa's coast</a>
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<p>From these experiments it became clear that an open, hard sole design, with tracks made on moist, moderately soft but nonetheless cohesive sand, best fitted the findings at the three fossil tracksites. </p>
<h2>Preservation and clarity</h2>
<p>Usually, to identify hominin tracks, the presence and alignment of toe impressions is a crucial factor. Clearly such features are unlikely to be present in the tracks of ancestral humans using footwear. We needed to ensure that the findings suggesting shod hominins were genuine rather than being due to poor preservation, or erosion, or that the tracks had simply been made in soft sand by barefoot humans. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/worlds-oldest-homo-sapiens-footprint-identified-on-south-africas-cape-south-coast-205310">World's oldest _Homo sapiens_ footprint identified on South Africa's Cape south coast</a>
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<p>Crisp track margins therefore became an essential feature at our three sites. Tracks had to have an approximate hominin footprint outline. Strap attachment points, if they left marks in the tracks, formed a welcome bonus.</p>
<p>None of the three sites has been dated at this point, although nearby dated sites suggest that they range in age from around 70,000 years to more than 130,000 years old.</p>
<p>While our evidence is suggestive, we do not consider it conclusive as yet. We’re searching for further sites which ideally, in addition to displaying good preservation, would contain long trackways to allow for detailed analysis.</p>
<h2>Why make footwear?</h2>
<p>One obvious question stemming from this research is why our ancestors would have elected to create footwear, whereas up until that point they had survived barefoot. </p>
<p>Perhaps once they had developed the means to create complex clothing through bone tools, footwear might have been a logical addition. Anyone who has tried to forage on the Cape coast today knows how sharp some of the rocks are and how easy it is to suffer a laceration if not wearing shoes. In the Middle Stone Age, about 130,000 years ago, an infected laceration might well have been a death sentence.</p>
<p>Protection from extremes of heat and cold might also have been incentives, and the use of footwear might initially have been occasional or intermittent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212712/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Helm does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Trackway findings support the notion of southern Africa being one region where human cognitive and practical ability developed a very long time ago.
Charles Helm, Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/207806
2023-08-22T01:04:38Z
2023-08-22T01:04:38Z
Ballet flats are back. Here’s what the research says about how they affect your feet
<p>Ballet flat shoes – those thin-heeled lightweight slip-on shoes – are making a fashion <a href="https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/ballet-flats">comeback</a>. And it’s not hard to see why: they’re versatile, easy to wear, soft, flexible and often worn by celebrities.</p>
<p>We have often been warned of the dangers of high-heeled shoes, so you might think ballet flats are problem-free.</p>
<p>When you look at the research, however, a complicated picture emerges. There’s no definitive evidence to show ballet flats are generally harmful to foot health in the long-term. But ill-fitting ballet flats can be a problem.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541170/original/file-20230804-25-22wyvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Ballet flats are back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-high-top-shoes-actually-reduce-ankle-sprain-risk-heres-what-the-research-says-202852">Do high top shoes actually reduce ankle sprain risk? Here's what the research says</a>
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<h2>Make sure it fits, especially in the toe box</h2>
<p>An estimated <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30065787/">70%</a> of the population are wearing ill-fitting shoes. This mismatch between foot and shoe shape can increase foot pain, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17507530/">reduce stability</a>, and can mean more blisters, corns and calluses. And habitual wearing of tight shoes has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958259207000533">associated</a> with bone changes in the toes and feet over time. </p>
<p>Many flats feature a shallow and narrow toe box (the part of the shoe where the toes go). A too-small toe box often doesn’t align with the shape of a foot and ends up squishing the toes. It can also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958259206000770">increase</a> pressure on top of and under the foot, and <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1757-1146-6-28">restrict</a> the movement of the forefoot during walking.</p>
<p>But a too-big toe box is also a problem. Too much foot movement within the shoe can cause pressure and friction on the skin, which can also lead to calluses, corns, blisters, and wounds. </p>
<p>A poorly fitting toe box can also cause micro trauma to toenails which, ultimately, can change <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anuva-Bansal/publication/347522694_Traumatic_Nail_Disorders/links/60d6135592851ca94487df7e/Traumatic-Nail-Disorders.pdf">their look and thickness</a>. </p>
<p>So if you’re wearing flats, make sure you choose a shoe with the right sized toe box.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541177/original/file-20230804-20-wejf60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Flats are often accused of lacking support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What about the heel?</h2>
<p>Health professionals often recommend a small heel over a completely flat shoe. Very flat shoes can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27498844/">place</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268003307002082">more</a> strain on the soft tissues that support the foot arch – specifically, the plantar fascia.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27498844/">Research</a> has shown moving from a completely flat shoe to a small, raised heel reduces the tension force on the plantar fascia during standing activities.</p>
<p>On the other hand, other <a href="https://journals.lww.com/jpojournal/Fulltext/2009/01000/Effects_of_Shoe_Heel_Height_on_the_Roll_Over.7.aspx#:%7E:text=The%20roll%2Dover%20shapes%20seem,without%20a%20change%20in%20alignment.&text=Photographs%20of%20the%20prosthetic%20feet,shapes%20of%20these%20feet%20superimposed">research</a> has shown most people will adapt their ankle and knee motion to accommodate shoes of different heel heights.</p>
<h2>What about support?</h2>
<p>Ballet flats tend to have very flexible, thin soles and heel counters (the part, coloured red in this picture, that hugs the heel and the back part of the foot).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541151/original/file-20230804-19-mbsltw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The heel counter here is coloured red.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These thin and flexible structures mean flats are often accused of lacking support. But debate rages among foot and shoe experts about how important support is in the first place.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27729290/">Research</a> on barefoot-style shoes has shown walking in these types of shoes significantly reduces some loads on the knee compared to more stable supportive shoes. </p>
<p>Minimalist shoes have also been found to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30102872/">increase strength</a> in certain foot muscles used when we push off during walking, running or jumping.</p>
<p>However, other research found stable supportive shoes can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33428439/">improve knee pain</a> when walking more than flat flexible shoes.</p>
<p>The thin soles in flats mean there is little cushioning under the foot. While more cushioning can improve comfort, and reduce stress and strain on your foot sole <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021929011001758?casa_token=gecXFCMi0LcAAAAA:TazyTd8TRaAl_bG0jprifYIUIlWRDwEH6bVeymBYTWups2iDGMuUjLs2gaNqsiNGHVJhHC3J9AdB">skin</a>, there is no evidence it reduces loads across the lower leg.</p>
<p>In fact, walking in cushioned shoes has been shown to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20191571/">increase</a> the load on the knee compared to flat, flexible shoes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541179/original/file-20230804-25-l1wjd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We have often been warned of the dangers of high-heeled shoes, so you might think ballet flats are problem-free.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So, what’s the verdict?</h2>
<p>The verdict is mixed. Yes, there’s evidence poorly fitting shoes and a flat heel can be detrimental, with consequences seen in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966636221000199">rearfoot</a> (around the ankle) and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966636218300687">knee</a>. </p>
<p>But there’s also no hard evidence ballet flats cause long-term foot health problems.</p>
<p>What matters is choosing a well-fitted shoe to suit your foot shape and needs.</p>
<p>If you’re shopping for ballet flats, try to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>choose a pair with a toe box that does not cramp your toes and has a sole at least as wide as your foot</p></li>
<li><p>choose flats that offer at least some structure and support</p></li>
<li><p>choose a pair with a small heel rather than being completely flat.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207806/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Graham is affiliated with Australian Podiatry Assocaition. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saravana Kumar Is a member of Physiotherapy Association of Australia, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health and Health Services Research Association of Australia & New Zealand. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Banwell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The verdict is mixed.
Kristin Graham, Lecturer in Podiatry, University of South Australia
Helen Banwell, Lecturer in Podiatry, University of South Australia
Saravana Kumar, Professor in Allied Health and Health Services Research, University of South Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/202852
2023-05-16T00:22:13Z
2023-05-16T00:22:13Z
Do high top shoes actually reduce ankle sprain risk? Here’s what the research says
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523978/original/file-20230503-21-w1vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C27%2C5943%2C3944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ankle sprain is one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, particularly in sports like netball, basketball and football where jumping, landing on one foot and sudden direction changes are part of the game.</p>
<p>Ankle sprains can be painful, debilitating and may result in ongoing ankle problems. In fact, people with a history of a previous ankle sprain are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-sprain-my-ankle-so-often-and-how-can-i-cut-the-risk-of-it-happening-again-190751">more likely</a> to sprain an ankle again in future.</p>
<p>Prevention is key. In an effort to reduce sprain risk, many people look for “high-top” shoes, where the section around the side of the shoe (also known as the “collar”) extends up closer to the ankle.</p>
<p>But what does the research say? Do high-top shoes actually reduce your sprain risk?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C6230%2C4128&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person wears high top shoes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C6230%2C4128&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523959/original/file-20230503-22-a7yuex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In an effort to reduce sprain risk, many people look for high-top shoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-sprain-my-ankle-so-often-and-how-can-i-cut-the-risk-of-it-happening-again-190751">Why do I sprain my ankle so often? And how can I cut the risk of it happening again?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>High-tops don’t always help – and can sometimes harm</h2>
<p>Plenty of research exists on this topic but unravelling the truth is complicated by inconsistency between studies. Researchers may have different ways of investigating the issue, of measuring the shoes success, or even different ways of defining a “high-top” shoe. </p>
<p>For example, the reported difference in collar height between “high-top” to “low-top” shoes was considerable, ranging from 4.3 to 8.5cm across <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2210491720950325">different studies</a>. </p>
<p>That said, the trend in the current research literature suggests the ankle protection provided by high-top shoes may not be enough to significantly reduce sprain risk while playing sport. </p>
<p>In fact, this design may also reduce athletic performance, and increase the risk of ankle sprain in some people.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2210491720950325">Research</a> does support the idea high-top shoes provide good stability when outside forces may cause an ankle sprain when the person is stationary (for example, when a person standing still is knocked from the side and starts to topple over, putting stress on the ankle).</p>
<p>However, once you start moving it’s a different story. In fact, some research suggests high-top shoes may even increase the risk of ankle sprain in some activities. </p>
<p>This may be because these shoes can change the way we use the muscles in our ankles and legs.</p>
<p>Specifically the muscles on the <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1757-1146-7-14">outside</a> of the lower leg may start firing later and not work as strongly to stiffen the ankle when your’re wearing high top shoes (compared to low top shoes).</p>
<p>To reduce ankle sprain risk, it is important the muscles on both sides of the legs <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021929016311563?via%3Dihub">work together</a> at the same time.</p>
<p>Tellingly, delayed and weaker activation of the muscles on the outside of the lower leg is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23899892/">greater</a> in people with chronic ankle instability. This finding suggests high-top shoes may not be the best choice for anyone with a history of ankle sprain. </p>
<p>There is also some <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/026404197367146">evidence</a> wearing high-top shoes may impede athletic performance by reducing jump height and increasing shock transmission to other parts of the body.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524264/original/file-20230504-26-jbv9o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What is crucial when selecting footwear is good fit and good function.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Getting the right fit</h2>
<p>External supports such as tape and braces are effective in both uninjured and previously injured ankles. But they’re <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/jat/article/54/6/650/420871/Prevention-of-Lateral-Ankle-Sprains">most effective</a> when used in combination with preventive exercise programs.</p>
<p>What is crucial when selecting footwear is good fit and good function. Footwear should fit the foot in length, width and depth, with a thumb’s width between the end of the longest toe and the tip of the shoe. You should have enough space across the ball of the foot for it to not be pulled tight when standing. </p>
<p>However, around <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z">70%</a> of people are wearing shoes that are not fitted appropriately. Women and girls more often have shoes that are too narrow, and older males often wear shoes that are too long. </p>
<p>Ill-fitting footwear <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966636221001478?via%3Dihub">can</a> increase falls, induce greater levels of osteoarthritis and impedes natural foot function in adults and children. </p>
<p>Make sure you’ve got the right shoe for the job. Form must suit function.</p>
<p>As an example, there’s merit in wearing a well-fitted high-top sneaker during static, standing based activities.</p>
<p>However, a low-top sneaker may be more beneficial during sporting activities that require frequent stopping, jumping, sudden changes in direction or for people with a <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1757-1146-7-14">history of ankle sprains</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/running-shoes-may-cause-injuries-but-is-going-barefoot-the-fix-135264">Running shoes may cause injuries – but is going barefoot the fix?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Graham is affiliated with Australian Podiatry Association. Non executive member. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Banwell has received in-kind support from ASICS Oceania and Skobi in the last two years. Neither funded the relevant studies – just gave us the shoes. I am currently involved as an external ‘content expert’ on a study with Monash with Bobux shoes but the study has been on hold since Covid started and I’m not receiving any monies for my involvement. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Causby receives funding from Australasian Podiatry Education Research Fund. He is a Director on the Australasian Council of Podiatry Deans and a member of the Australian Podiatry Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lewis Ingram and Saravana Kumar do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The ankle protection provided by high-top shoes may not be enough to reduce sprain risk significantly. In fact, this design may reduce athletic performance, and increase risk of ankle sprain for some.
Kristin Graham, Lecturer in Podiatry, University of South Australia
Helen Banwell, Lecturer in Podiatry, University of South Australia
Lewis Ingram, Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of South Australia
Ryan Causby, Dean of Programs (Allied Health), University of South Australia
Saravana Kumar, Professor in Allied Health and Health Services Research, University of South Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203463
2023-05-15T11:56:49Z
2023-05-15T11:56:49Z
8th Street Samba: here’s why the authentic collaboration behind the ‘perfect sneaker’ matters
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522586/original/file-20230424-28-xjfdxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1337%2C1056&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The many colour ways of the 8th Street Samba shoe.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://kith.com/blogs/kith/the-8th-street-samba-by-ronnie-fieg-for-adidas-originals-clarks-originals">Courtesy of Kith</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From <a href="https://www.nike.com/au/launch/t/air-force-1-tiffany-and-co-black">Nike Air Force 1 x Tiffany & Co</a> to <a href="https://www.crocs.com/KFC.html">Crocs x KFC</a>, footwear collaborations are rife. But the recent release of <a href="https://www.highsnobiety.com/tag/ronnie-fieg/">Kith founder</a> Ronnie Fieg’s <a href="https://kith.com/blogs/news/the-8th-street-samba-by-ronnie-fieg-for-adidas-originals-clarks-originals">8th Street Samba</a> for Adidas Originals and Clarks Originals is special.</p>
<p>In a saturated market, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/nike-and-tiffany-and-co-do-we-need-yet-another-fashion-crossover-20230202-p5chbn.html">fatigued</a> by increasingly gratuitous partnerships, fashion news outlets have praised the collaboration for its timeless authenticity, touting it the <a href="https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/adidas-clarks-ronnie-fieg-samba-sneaker-collab-2023">“perfect sneaker” and “holy trinity”</a> of collaborations.</p>
<p>And consumers seem to agree. Pairs of the limited edition sneaker have <a href="https://stockx.com/en-gb/adidas-clarks-8th-street-samba-by-ronnie-fieg-chalk-white-green">resold</a> for up to five times the original price. Pre-orders of a subsequent second release closed, with buyers willing to wait up to six months for delivery.</p>
<p>As fashion researchers, we’re concerned by the environmental impact of an ever-increasing number of collaborations, where authenticity is undermined by commercial objectives. While the 8th Street Samba isn’t designed to be a sustainable shoe, we’re interested in how meaningful partnerships can help to inspire a slower and more sustainable fashion system.</p>
<h2>Footwear’s sustainability problem</h2>
<p>As one of the world’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-fashion-industry-environmental-impact/">greatest polluters</a>, the fashion industry has come under increasing pressure to become more sustainable. With progress towards a more <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/17/fashion-greenwashing-glossary-what-do-circular-sustainable-and-zero-waste-really-mean">circular</a> approach now underway (where items are made from reused materials that can themselves be repeatedly reused, repaired and recycled), attention is turning to <a href="https://www.bettershoes.org/introduction">footwear.</a></p>
<p>Footwear is <a href="https://traid.org.uk/footwork/">fashion’s least sustainable category</a>. Each year, 24.3 billion shoes are produced globally. With an estimated 90% not recycled, approximately <a href="https://www.bettershoes.org/introduction">1.2 million tonnes</a> of post-consumer shoe waste is created annually in the EU alone. Complex construction, particularly of sneakers, means most cannot be disassembled for recycling or repair.</p>
<p>We’re producing and consuming too many new shoes and collaborations are part of the problem.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CqDXhZEuQ7C","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Collaborating is key to sneaker and streetwear culture. From the archetypal Converse “Chuck” Taylor All-Star and Puma Clyde, to the Nike Air Jordan and Run DMC Adidas Superstar. Links to sports stars, artists and lifestyles have transformed once practical and comfortable sports shoes into highly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253866.2020.1741357">fetishised commodities</a>.</p>
<p>Collaborations are a marketing tactic in which two (or occasionally more) brands combine their values and aesthetics to produce a unified product. The goal is to appeal to new markets and build brand image, equity and credibility.</p>
<p>For connoisseurs, or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-020-00228-3">“sneakerheads”</a>, the value of a collaboration is in its scarcity (often released as a limited edition) and the story it tells. At their best, collaborations enable and celebrate connections between brands, histories, cultures and communities. </p>
<p>However, the values that once made them special are becoming a thing of the past. In an industry increasingly obsessed with reach and hype, collaborations have become the norm. According to an <a href="https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/sneaker-collaborations/">article in Highsnobiety</a>, the frequency of production and numbers left sitting on shelves are putting the sneaker industry at risk of “collaborating itself to death”. </p>
<p>Even sneakerheads themselves are <a href="https://www.sneak-ahead.org/">calling for a return to a slower, more considered approach.</a></p>
<h2>What makes an authentic collaboration?</h2>
<p>Broadly defined, an authentic product or brand is one that may be perceived as being sincere, original, unique, natural, having utility and bringing pleasure.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1637118112016285697"}"></div></p>
<p>Heritage brands such as Clarks Originals and Adidas Originals tick a number of these boxes making them desirable collaborative partners. Yet as author and journalist <a href="https://david-boyle.co.uk/david-boyle">David Boyle</a> explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Authenticity doesn’t just mean reliving the past: it means using it to find new ways of living – maybe even new kinds of progress. The most authentic isn’t necessarily the most true to the past; it could be the most creative or the most human.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The three-way partnership between Clarks, Adidas and Kith is nothing if not creative and human. The unique combination of the crepe sole and suede upper of the Clarks Wallabee shoe with the silhouette and three stripes of the Adidas Samba sneaker tells the nostalgic story of 90s streetwear in New York and beyond.</p>
<p>Having worn Clarks Originals for most of his life, Ronnie Fieg’s participation in the collaboration provided the subcultural capital required to make it meaningful and authentic. In a <a href="https://kith.com/blogs/news/the-8th-street-samba-by-ronnie-fieg-for-adidas-originals-clarks-originals">blog post</a> the streetwear enthusiast recalled working in his uncle’s footwear store, David Z. on New York’s 8th Street, throughout the 1990s. The experience enabled him to build a deep understanding of the cultural significance of both Adidas and Clarks, which then inspired the collaboration.</p>
<p>As marketing professor <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230250802">Michael Beverland</a> explains, loyal fans are what give brands meaning. Brands that innovate while consistently and truthfully respecting (rather than exploiting) the creative and human processes that make their products meaningful are perceived as authentic.</p>
<p>Authentic collaborations, then, come when creative teams are able to take the time to fully research, observe, understand and even immerse themselves in the social lives of their products. This understanding enables them to make intuitive and respectful decisions about which partnerships and projects they pursue.</p>
<p>Clarks Originals have a history of going one stage further by actually employing or collaborating with their consumers. In this case, authentic products blur the line between who produces and who consumes.</p>
<h2>From selling soles to saving them</h2>
<p>Research has shown that many <a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/csfb.5.1.25_1">Clarks Originals wearers</a> develop a sentimental attachment to their shoes, which comes from a respect for the brand and the bond they develop with them through wear.</p>
<p>Clarks Originals, including the 8th Street Samba, are made from leather, suede and natural crepe rubber. Unlike polyurethane leather and other synthetic alternatives, these materials age gracefully and transform with the wearer, becoming mnemonic (memory) objects that store and recall the traces of bodies, personal stories and experiences.</p>
<p>Once worn out (the soles and laces are usually the first to go), many are reluctant to dispose of them and begrudge having to wear in a new pair. While these shoes may not be materially durable, like other special shoes, they are simply <a href="https://footwearresearchnetwork.org/articles/dormant-shoes-why-do-we-keep-shoes-we-no-longer-wear">too meaningful to throw away</a>.</p>
<p>According to professor of sustainable design, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286752949_Emotionally_durable_design_Objects_experiences_and_empathy">Jonathan Chapman</a>, designing for this kind of “<a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/playing-keeps-designing-emotional-durability-key-circular-economy">emotional durability</a>” presents an opportunity to develop alternative, sustainable business models that cater for repair, recycling and reuse rather than replacement.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpSzoJ5pfMZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7054019412240015360?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7054019412240015360%29">Responses</a> to French sneaker brand Veja’s recent <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpSzoJ5pfMZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==">sneaker-restoring service</a> demonstrate there is a considerable appetite for services and experiences that assist consumers to continue relationships with the things they love.</p>
<p>According to a recent article for the <a href="https://footwearresearchnetwork.org/articles/the-art-and-science-of-repair-towards-a-responsible-and-meaningful-relationship-with-footwear">Footwear Research Network</a>, when led by brands themselves, these repair and recycling services not only enhance consumer satisfaction and loyalty, but also generate data that brands can use to improve product durability and quality.</p>
<p>While collaborations can be problematic, when done authentically they can provide solutions.</p>
<p>Collaborating with consumers to both create and prolong the lives of meaningful products like the 8th Street Samba is one way to help ensure an environmentally and economically sustainable future for the footwear industry. It can also help to restore a sense of authenticity to an industry at risk of losing its credibility.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203463/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In a saturated market, fatigued by gratuitous partnerships such as Nike x Tiffany & Co., this collaboration has been praised for its timeless authenticity.
Alexandra Sherlock, Lecturer, School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University
Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design, University of Westminster
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203824
2023-04-28T12:45:49Z
2023-04-28T12:45:49Z
In ‘Air,’ Michael Jordan’s silence speaks volumes about the marketing of Black athletes
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522369/original/file-20230421-26-t3g1lg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C4%2C3089%2C1896&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jordan wears his iconic 'Air Jordan' Nike sneakers during a game in 1985.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/detail-of-the-air-jordan-nike-shoes-worn-by-chicago-bulls-news-photo/53033254?adppopup=true">Focus on Sport/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The film “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16419074/">Air</a>,” which tells the story of Nike’s signing of Michael Jordan, isn’t actually about Michael Jordan at all.</p>
<p>It’s about the beauty of design and the seduction of marketing. It’s about power suits, purple Porsches and Rolexes. It’s about white men languishing through midlife crises who salivate over the branding potential of a star basketball player.</p>
<p>As for Jordan? Audiences just see his back as he strolls into the Nike offices and his hands as he admires the Air Jordan prototype – but never his face. In the entire film, he utters only three words.</p>
<p>Much has been made about <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2023/04/air-movie-ben-affleck-matt-damon-sonny-vaccaro.html">Michael Jordan’s representation</a> or lack thereof in “Air.”</p>
<p>How could a film about one of the most famous Black men in the world obscure his presence?</p>
<p>The film’s true power is its ability to convey an unnerving truth about the sneakers’ mystique: Jordan’s athletic ability was crucial to the success of Nike and Air Jordan; not so much his face – and definitely not his words.</p>
<p>In this way, “Air” becomes the story of how a struggling company created one of the most successful brands in the world on the back of a Black body, a tale as old as the nation itself.</p>
<h2>Liftoff</h2>
<p>In 1983, Nike’s marketing director, Rob Strasser, wrote an <a href="https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2016/6/13/meet-the-man-who-reinvented-nike-seduced-adidas-and-helped-make-portland-the-sports-gear-capital-of-the-world">internal memo</a> explaining the importance of using star athletes to sell their products: “Individual athletes, even more than teams, will be the heroes; symbols more and more of what real people can’t do anymore – risk and win.” </p>
<p>This memo appeared during a turbulent period for Nike. The company <a href="https://s1.q4cdn.com/806093406/files/doc_financials/1981/1981%20annual%20report.pdf">had gone public in 1980</a> with a listless opening. In 1984, the company posted its first losing quarter and initiated a monthlong wave of layoffs employees called the “<a href="https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2016/06/meet-the-man-who-reinvented-nike-seduced-adidas-and-helped-make-portland-the-sports-gear-capital-of-the-world">St. Valentine’s Day Massacre</a>.”</p>
<p>Who would be that hero? The ailing shoe company sought a body brimming with transcendent talent, a superhuman athlete. </p>
<p>Enter the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan, of whom Boston Celtics legend <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2887426-god-disguised-as-michael-jordan-when-everything-changed-for-his-airness">Larry Bird once said</a>, “I think he’s God disguised as Michael Jordan.”</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Bald man in red shirt adjusts his watch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1021&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1021&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523305/original/file-20230427-22-g91hvf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1021&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sports agent David Falk represented Michael Jordan during the entirety of his career.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sports-agent-david-falk-looks-on-during-a-game-between-the-news-photo/382245?adppopup=true">Doug Pensinger/Allsport via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549826/sneakers-by-rodrigo-corral-alex-french-and-howie-kahn/">During the summer of 1984</a>, Nike shoe designer Peter Moore and Strasser gathered in the Washington, D.C., office of Jordan’s agent, David Falk. </p>
<p>In a scene authors Rodrigo Corral, Alex French and Howie Kahn detail in their 2017 book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/549826/sneakers-by-rodrigo-corral-alex-french-and-howie-kahn/9780448494333">Sneakers</a>,” Falk, after exchanging pleasantries, looked to Strasser and said, “Rob, I’ve got an idea. I want to marry Michael to your airbag technology.” </p>
<p>Nike had developed <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Sneaker_Book.html?id=Drg9PgAACAAJ">its air cushions</a> in 1977. It involved infusing the midsoles of shoes with pockets of pressurized gas to absorb shock, but the company was having a difficult time marketing it.</p>
<p>Falk then paused for dramatic effect, before uttering, “Air Jordan.”</p>
<p>In 1985, Nike released the first Air Jordan sneaker. A year later, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-10-07-9310070083-story.html">Nike sold US$100 million</a> worth of Air Jordan shoes and apparel, boosting the company’s profits to $59 million from only $10 million the year before.</p>
<p>After 38 years and 37 iterations of their flagship line of basketball shoes, Jordans have become a transcendent cultural talisman memorializing Michael Jordan’s career and basketball’s influence on American life – but also, his labor.</p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike/?sh=52574e9c6eb5">Nike is worth a staggering $200 billion</a>. Meanwhile, the Jordan brand, which was <a href="https://www.si.com/fannation/sneakers/news/jordan-brand-launched-25-years-ago-today">spun off into its own company in 1997</a>, brings in billions of dollars per year, of which <a href="https://frontofficesports.com/jordan-more-than-doubled-his-nba-career-earnings-in-2022-from-nike-deal">Jordan pockets 5%</a>.</p>
<h2>Buying a piece of Blackness</h2>
<p>I’m writing a book that explores the intimate connections between sneakers and Blackness. In it, I argue that the Black body’s long history of objectification and commodification undergirds the branding, mass consumption and culture of sneakers.</p>
<p>What “Air” does better than anything else is to unbox a provocative, sobering truth about Jordans’ meteoric rise: They are cast as literal extensions of Black bodies. They represent the literal molding of a Black man’s feet, with their vulcanized rubber, leather and laces encapsulating Black athletic greatness and cool. </p>
<p>Finally figuring out how to sell Nike’s airbag technology was the other side of Air’s recipe for success. </p>
<p>In truth, Nike Air was a curiosity. It was unstable and unreliable. But runners became enamored with the idea of a cushioning technology they couldn’t see and much less understand. People knew they loved the sensation of Air even though the “how” remained a mystery. </p>
<p>The seemingly simple concept of explaining Air had eluded the company. <a href="https://powerhousebooks.com/books/sole-provider-thirty-years-of-nike-basketball/">In an interview with journalist Scoop Jackson</a>, Bruce Kilgore, Nike designer responsible for the <a href="https://www.kickgame.co.uk/blogs/sneaker-news/how-bruce-kilgore-encapsulated-sneaker-culture">Air Force 1</a>, articulated the difficulty of taking the air midsole from idea to execution to market: “How do you take something inherently unstable and put [it] into [a basketball shoe] that is all about stability?” </p>
<p>But six years after the development of the air midsole, David Falk cracked the code of Nike’s transparent, little black box: Don’t market the technology. Market the body that wears it.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The first TV ad for Air Jordans features the iconic line, ‘Who says man was not meant to fly?’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This marketing ploy to shift the attention of consumers from mundane pockets of polyurethane to on-court performances, while indeed innovative, centers an incredibly old tradition of Americans seeing Black bodies as being spectacularly convertible to profit.</p>
<p>Air Jordans romanticize an American wistfulness for the stoic and branded Black workhorse. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/the-legend-of-john-henry-talcott-wv.htm">John Henry</a>, the legendary steel driver, was a hero, and so, too, is Jordan. For Black bodies – Jordan and Henry, but also athletes like <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/sports/football/damar-hamlin-bills-hit.html">Damar Hamlin</a>, who suffered a near-fatal injury during an NFL game in early 2023 – heroism is articulated through the hypnotizing anthem of toil and exhaustion.</p>
<p>Sports provide an easy cover for the perpetuation of this myth. Disgraced sports commentator Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder <a href="https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/64d88369-89db-4c8a-a1b9-ba80986a4def/the-legend-of-jimmy-the-greek">once said</a>, “The Black is a better athlete to begin with … They can jump higher and run faster.” </p>
<p>How far removed is the marketing of Air Jordans from the words of Jimmy the Greek?</p>
<p>As the voiceover in the first Air Jordan television ad proclaims, “Who says man was not meant to fly?”</p>
<h2>Bodies ripe for the picking</h2>
<p>Before Nike’s dominance, brands like Pony, Converse and Adidas were popular on street corners and basketball courts around the country – a history told by DJ and author Bobbito Garcia in his 2003 book, “<a href="https://www.circlea.com/product/where-d-you-get-those-tenth-anniversary-edition/2264">Where’d You Get Those?</a>”</p>
<p>Nike and the Air Jordan, however, represented a watershed moment in which this bubbling market of “sneaker fiends,” as Garcia calls them, went mainstream. Through artful placement in Black films – specifically Spike Lee’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc6_XgtOQgI">Do the Right Thing</a>” – and with an assist from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbHI1yI1Ndk">Michael Jackson and hip-hop</a>, the Air Jordan line transformed sneakers into one of the most important footwear items and fashion brands the world has ever witnessed.</p>
<p>Nike would go on to feature scores of other Black athletes in its ad campaigns, and the names of these heroes ring off the tongue sharp and proud like a trumpet’s blare: <a href="https://img.cdn-pictorem.com/uploads/collection/S/SO5PKP9NEK/900_Row-One-Brand_bo_jackson_1988_nike_ad_sc_trainer_shoe.jpg">Bo Jackson</a>, <a href="https://sneakernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Penny-Hardaway-Air-Penny-1-from-Lil-Penny-book.jpg">Penny Hardaway</a>, <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/bb/17/33bb17bce839e40918615c12c98e95c7.jpg">Kobe Bryant</a>, <a href="https://cdn.musebycl.io/2020-08/You%20Can%E2%80%99t%20Stop%20Sisters%20%7C%20Nike.jpg">Venus and Serena Williams</a>, <a href="https://cdn.wallpapersafari.com/26/46/nLoMke.jpg">Lebron James</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9sz6xhPkGJ4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An ad from Nike’s iconic ‘Bo Knows’ campaign, featuring star athlete Bo Jackson.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>None of this would be possible without Nike’s big bet on Jordan.</p>
<p>So why does a film give Michael Jordan, the man who had so much to do with Nike’s success, so little to say? </p>
<p>I believe the answer is as uncomfortable as it is simple: Michael Jordan isn’t the film’s subject, but its object.</p>
<p>In one of the film’s more memorable scenes, Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, goes to visit the Jordan family in Wilmington, North Carolina. </p>
<p>When he arrives, he greets James, Michael’s father, before being passed off to the real decision-maker: Deloris Jordan, the matriarch of the Jordan clan. Viola Davis portrays Deloris with a drowning depth. Every utterance and glance simmers. </p>
<p>“Five generations of Jordans are buried in these forests,” she announces as she sits with Vaccaro in their backyard. She’s polite but distant. Her piercing eyes know to be wary of unannounced visits from white men in shiny cars. Everyone wants a piece of her son, and it’s her job to keep him whole. </p>
<p>In the film, before unveiling the Air Jordan 1 to Vaccaro and Strasser, Peter Moore, played by Matthew Maher, describes the shoe: “It has the logic of water, like shoe was always here, like it always existed.” </p>
<p>What Moore cannot know is how right he really is. Deloris Jordan and those five buried generations have always been here. </p>
<p>The Black body, from America’s inception, has always been there, as cotton and as sugar, ripe for the picking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203824/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>A. Joseph Dial does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The film conveys an uncomfortable truth: Jordan was merely a vessel for Nike’s meteoric rise.
A. Joseph Dial, Disco Network Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Purdue University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203538
2023-04-21T12:40:48Z
2023-04-21T12:40:48Z
Keeping NBA players on the court is no small ‘feet’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521420/original/file-20230417-16-xu2g2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=546%2C7%2C3302%2C2186&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III falls to the court after suffering a toe injury during a playoff game in May 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/robert-williams-iii-of-the-boston-celtics-reacts-after-news-photo/1318749877?adppopup=true">Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The NBA playoffs provide a stage for some of the biggest and tallest athletes in the world. With an <a href="https://www.hoopsaddict.com/average-nba-players-shoe-size/">average height of 6 feet, 7 inches and an average weight of 225 pounds</a>, players have a lot of skin, bone and muscle to support. </p>
<p>That’s why their feet play such an outsize role – literally and figuratively. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=_AxjgecAAAAJ">physical therapist</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip-Anloague">researcher</a> who works closely with NBA athletes, I know just how difficult it is to maintain the health of players who are on the higher end of the foot-size spectrum.</p>
<p>And so while fans eagerly anticipate eye-popping dunks and crafty assists, I’ll be keeping an eye on the footwork of players like <a href="https://www.blazersedge.com/2023/3/9/23632448/kevin-durant-injury-news-phoenix-suns-ankle-warm-up-out">Kevin Durant</a>, <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/joel-embiid-injury-stats-sixers-20220502.html">Joel Embiid</a> and <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/lebron-james-foot-injury-timeline-return-latest-updates-lakers/vvvgzwzwzyy85emnklhjrtef">Lebron James</a>, each of whom has had challenges keeping their feet healthy.</p>
<h2>The importance of a strong foundation</h2>
<p>NBA players’ bodies take a beating. </p>
<p>They jump and come crashing down to the court up to 70 times per game, with centers – typically the tallest players on the court – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.10.3.222">usually jumping the most</a>. </p>
<p>When players land, the impact on the ground can be as high as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.10.3.222">four to six times</a> their body weight. The average player also changes direction <a href="https://theconversation.com/stiff-muscles-are-a-counterintuitive-superpower-of-nba-athletes-116252">every two to three seconds</a>, requiring stopping, turning and accelerating. Together, the jumps, twists, dekes and sprints put immense pressure on players’ foot, ankle and knee joints.</p>
<p>Like a tall building, basketball players need a solid foundation to support their massive bodies and withstand the power that is generated by all of this movement. </p>
<p>This is where the feet come in. The average shoe size of NBA players is close to a <a href="https://www.hoopsaddict.com/average-nba-players-shoe-size/">U.S. size 15</a>. NBA Hall-of-Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Bob Lanier famously wore <a href="https://www.hoopsaddict.com/average-nba-players-shoe-size/">size 22 shoes</a>. Among current players, Kevin Durant (18), Andre Drummond (19), Brook and Robin Lopez (20), Karl Anthony Towns (20) and Tacko Fall (22) lead the pack. The typical <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/average-shoe-size-for-men#by-height">shoe size</a> for an American adult male is 10.5.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man poses with large shoe and championship ring." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521419/original/file-20230417-16-hkye8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shaquille O'Neal’s massive feet are the stuff of legend.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/reebok-classic-and-shaquille-oneal-launch-the-new-shaq-news-photo/642706244?adppopup=true">Josh Brasted/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having big feet means having big bones that act as levers to create forces needed for athletic maneuvers. The foot’s 26 bones are intricately linked together with a series of 33 joints and bound together by <a href="https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2018.7192">soft tissues</a> like muscles, tendons and ligaments. The big toe, the arch of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=_AxjgecAAAAJ&citation_for_view=_AxjgecAAAAJ:WF5omc3nYNoC">the midfoot</a> and the ankle are the gears that facilitate motion. </p>
<p>The soft tissue that connects these joints acts like a spring. Energy must be transferred from one joint to the other in a leverlike system that allows athletes to propel themselves forward when running and jumping. Likewise, these joints need to work together to absorb the shock of landing, slowing down or changing directions.</p>
<p>If this structure is not sound, the entire process can break down.</p>
<h2>What goes up must come down</h2>
<p>According to sports medicine specialist Mark C. Drakos, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738109357303">62% of injuries</a> in the NBA occur below the waist, with foot and ankle injuries accounting for over 22% of them. Ankle injuries are the most common: A player has a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546519864678">25.8% chance</a> of incurring one over the course of a season.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738117738988">Stress fractures</a>, while less common, can be particularly debilitating, lingering for weeks or months. The most <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201758">common bones</a> in the feet and lower leg to experience stress fractures are the navicular, talus, tibia and fibula. </p>
<p>Orthopedic surgeon <a href="https://surgery.mcmaster.ca/bio/dr.-moin-khan">Moin Kahn</a> conducted a case study and found that <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1941738109357303">only 30% of the athletes</a> who incurred a stress fracture from 2005 to 2015 were able to return to their previous level of play a year after their injury.</p>
<p>Having big feet doesn’t mean that an NBA athlete is destined to have an injury. But many big men have had their struggles. This list includes former players Bill Walton, Arvydas Sabonis, Yao Ming and Greg Oden, all of whom wore size 19 shoes. </p>
<p>Standing at 7 feet, 3 inches, NBA prospect Victor Wembanyama has already had his fair share of <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2022/8/3/23289223/victor-wembanyama-injury-history-muscle-psoas-back-nba-draft-2023">health issues</a>, including a fibular stress fracture. He wears a size 20.5 shoe.</p>
<h2>Getting off on the right foot</h2>
<p>Our research team has been studying joint range of motion, arch mobility, and foot and ankle mechanics in NBA players <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=_AxjgecAAAAJ">to help athletes mitigate these injury risks</a>. </p>
<p>Part of that work involves building a database that includes the normal clinical measurements for elite basketball players – big toe extension, arch mobility, ankle flexion, hamstring flexibility and hip range of motion. </p>
<p>Understanding normal physical dimensions helps physical therapists and trainers to understand the risk of injury based on vulnerabilities in a player’s physical makeup. </p>
<p>For example, the average range of the big toe’s extension for the general population is 60 degrees. However, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=_AxjgecAAAAJ">our research</a> shows that the average NBA front court player has motion that is about 40 degrees. This means that the typical NBA player has feet and ankles that are stiffer than the average person’s. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lYrA30qcvK4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Kevin Durant tears his Achilles tendon during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While this stiffness can be advantageous and work like a coiled spring that helps a basketball player run and jump, physical therapists must constantly work on these muscles to loosen them up. That’s because too much stiffness can cause <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fulltext/2014/10000/lower_extremity_stiffness__effects_on_performance.12.aspx">bone injuries</a>.</p>
<p>Understanding what is happening during the heat of the action is also important. </p>
<p>We found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2022-0088">Achilles tendon tears</a> tend to occur when the ankle bends more than 48 degrees. We suspect that this can happen when players’ ankles aren’t stiff enough: The tendon can’t adequately withstand the forces it encounters during game play.</p>
<p>The foot – a complex network of bones, joints and tissue – is ultimately only as strong as its weakest link. And the health of a team’s feet can end up being the one thing standing between them and a championship.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Anloague does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The gargantuan feet of NBA players are the stuff of legend. But nearly two-thirds of their injuries occur below the waist, and they have a 25.8% chance of incurring an ankle injury every season.
Philip Anloague, Associate Provost; Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, University of Dayton
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200718
2023-03-20T19:24:01Z
2023-03-20T19:24:01Z
Gen Z grew up in a world filled with ugly fashion – no wonder they love their Crocs
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514599/original/file-20230310-14-9tg3yy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C690%2C3977%2C3370&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">1MilliDollars/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2017, Julia Hobbs of British Vogue <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/crocs-sandals-christopher-kane-trend-test">declared</a> Crocs “have an unrivalled ability to repel onlookers and induce sneers”.</p>
<p>But over the two decades since the notoriously ugly shoes were released, the clogs seem to be going from strength to strength. </p>
<p>No longer just the comfortable, easy-to-wear boat shoes they were designed as, now they’re being worn by celebrities like <a href="https://www.vogue.com/vogueworld/article/ariana-grande-crocs-controversial-shoe-trend">Ariana Grande</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-10-13/justin-bieber-crocs-bad-bunny-post-malone">Justin Bieber</a>, <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/20220531141686/the-view-whoopi-goldberg-divides-fans-backstage-photo-concern-for-safety/">Whoopi Goldberg</a> and Drew Barrymore, who has her <a href="https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Drew-barrymore-launches-crocs-collection,943183.html">own collection</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CGBIascFE6S","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Bedazzled white Crocs are being worn with <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/brides-mocked-for-wearing-blinged-out-crocs-on-their-big-day/">wedding dresses</a>, #crocs has more than 7.3 billion views <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crocs?lang=en">on TikTok</a>, and diehard fans can buy <a href="https://www.carousell.sg/p/preorder-mini-crocs-jibbitz-accessory-charms-fun-quirky-1174036132/">mini Crocs</a> to decorate their Crocs with.</p>
<p>Even supermodel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-LLMIjIQM">Kendall Jenner</a> admitted on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that she is not ashamed of her comfy Crocs.</p>
<p>But the most common place you’re likely to see Crocs today is on the feet of Generation Z. They grew up with ugly fashion, and are now making it their own.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cluttercore-gen-zs-revolt-against-millennial-minimalism-is-grounded-in-victorian-excess-182706">Cluttercore: Gen Z's revolt against millennial minimalism is grounded in Victorian excess</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A brief history</h2>
<p>Crocs’ ancestors are the clog: a cheap, comfortable, lightweight, practical wooden shoe popular in medieval Europe and Scandinavia. </p>
<p>Traditional wooden clogs were easy to clean, non-slip, protected the wearer’s feet and kept them warm and dry. </p>
<p>The oldest surviving pair found in Holland <a href="https://isgeschiedenis.nl/reportage/geschiedenis-van-de-klompen">date to 1230</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1016&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1016&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514590/original/file-20230310-22-j31o82.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1016&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937), The Young Sabot Maker, 1895, oil on canvas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://art.nelson-atkins.org/objects/14934/the-young-sabot-maker">William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund and partial gift of an anonymous donor</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Crocs premiered their shoe at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show in 2002. Made from a tough form of injection-moulded ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam, which moulds to the wearer’s foot, all 200 pairs at the show sold out. </p>
<p>Crocs were easy to clean, non-slip, could easily be pulled on and off, and would not suffer from continued exposure to water. </p>
<p>But they weren’t popular in all corners. Time magazine included Crocs in their 2010 list of <a href="https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1991915_1991909_1991743,00.html">the 50 worst inventions</a>.</p>
<p>And from the outset, even Crocs’ cofounders considered them <a href="https://www.parents.com/kids/style/fashion/crocs/">ugly</a>. </p>
<h2>Ugly fashion</h2>
<p>The 21st century’s love of deliberately ugly fashion can be traced to 1996, with Miuccia Prada launching her <a href="https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-1996-ready-to-wear/prada">“Bad Taste” collection</a>. </p>
<p>The early 2000s gave us ugly comfort dressing in the form of the bright, velour <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2014/06/70125/juicy-couture-stores-closing">Juicy Couture</a> tracksuit. Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s <a href="https://people.com/style/britney-spears-justin-timberlake-matching-denim-moment-20th-anniversary/">iconic matching double denim moment</a> at the 2001 American Music Awards embodied the era’s ugliness. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/">Generation Z</a> grew up in this ugly fashion world. Many rocked their first brightly coloured pair of Crocs as toddlers. </p>
<p>This generation also learned to express themselves online, where <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470412914544516">Internet Ugly</a> – a deliberately grotesque, anti-authoritarian and amateurish aesthetic – is a key look of memes. </p>
<p>Memes celebrate ugliness as a relatable, authentic foil against the slickly perfect images generated by filters, Hollywood and self-serious corporate design. Memes evolve, but the images, templates and looks of memes stays similar and the ugly aesthetic continues to spread and be enjoyed.</p>
<p>Crocs are, in a sense, wearable memes for Gen Z. </p>
<p>Like memes, Crocs have changed and returned through nostalgic affectation. </p>
<p>In the two decades since their launch, Crocs have constantly reinvented themselves. There have been new colours and collaborations with popular brands, including <a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/collab/minecraft">computer games</a> and high fashion houses like <a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/p/liberty-london-x-crocs-classic-clog/206447.html">Liberty of London</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Co9QGSqSTDg","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Each generation rediscovers the objects of its youth and replicates these objects in new ways. The resulting objects – in this case, Crocs – are passed around and either made uglier or beautified in the eye of the beholder. Every pair of Crocs can be customised with “<a href="https://www.crocs.com.au/c/jibbitz">Jibbitz</a>”, a small ornament that fits into the holes throughout the shoe to beautify Crocs for their owner. </p>
<p>In the United Kingdom, Crocs <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/fashion/primark-shoppers-hysterics-hideous-9-25693380">paired with</a> fast-fashion retailer Primark and high-street bakery Greggs to create ugly, fur-lined, black £9 Crocs with Greggs’ logo. </p>
<p>At the other end of the budget, you can buy <a href="https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/g36656071/croc-collaborations/">Balenciaga’s lime green Crocs</a> with a black sole and black stiletto heel. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-shoes-has-been-frivolous-ridiculous-and-extreme-42782">The history of shoes has been frivolous, ridiculous and extreme</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Crocs and the pandemic</h2>
<p>Ugliness lets viewers laugh and release tensions in situations where they <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674024090">are helpless to act</a>.</p>
<p>Adrian Holloway, Crocs’ general manager, told <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/crocs-rubber-shoe-trend">Vogue</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>In times of stress and uncertainty, consumers seem to want comfort […] Everything was so heavy and scary, it felt good to treat yourself to something cheerful and inexpensive, but also practical and comfortable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The COVID pandemic left Gen Z unable to participate in important social rites of passage like graduations, milestone birthdays, weddings and funerals. </p>
<p>Global lockdowns also left people feeling a strange blend of shock, boredom and irritation. </p>
<p>Like laughing at ugly memes, laughing at cute, ugly Crocs helped release feelings of powerlessness. </p>
<h2>Here to stay</h2>
<p>Popular predictions of <a href="https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/june-2022/clothes/comfort-or-style/">post-pandemic fashions</a> suggest there are two options: we will continue to dress for comfort, or we will embrace eye-catching colours and patterns and strange silhouettes. </p>
<p>The popularity of Crocs among Gen Z suggests a third option: a combination of the comfortable with the crazy. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B2PJJfBF26i/?","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Worn today, these shoes signal the wearer’s capacity for casualness, irony, rebellion, and a desire to forge their own fashion rules in an Internet Ugly world. </p>
<p>Crocs are <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g41416862/spring-2023-shoe-trends/">here to stay</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-your-shoes-say-about-you-quite-a-lot-actually-38142">What your shoes say about you (quite a lot, actually)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200718/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Brayshaw does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
From the outset, even Crocs’ co-founders considered them ugly. But Gen Z are making the shoes their own.
Emily Brayshaw, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/197908
2023-01-29T19:09:20Z
2023-01-29T19:09:20Z
Toxic pollutants can build up inside our homes. Here are 8 ways to reduce the risks
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506044/original/file-20230124-15-cgwl3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We know everything in our homes gathers dust. What you probably don’t know is whether there are toxic contaminants in your house dust, and where these might come from. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.115173">newly published research</a> found most of the dust inside homes came from outside and contains potentially toxic trace metals such as lead, arsenic and chromium. </p>
<p>Worryingly, we found some contaminants can accumulate at higher concentrations inside homes than outside. This happened in homes with certain characteristics: older properties, metal construction materials enriched in zinc, recent renovations and deteriorating paint. </p>
<p>Fortunately, you can take some simple steps to reduce your exposure, which we explain later.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dust-and-where-does-it-all-come-from-168265">What is dust? And where does it all come from?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s in house dust?</h2>
<p>Our study explored the connected sources, pathways and potentially harmful exposures to trace metals at homes across Sydney. We collected and analysed 383 samples from nearby road dust (51 samples) and garden soil (166), as well as indoor dust (166).</p>
<p>We found the dust in homes comes from a range of sources including outdoor environments and soil, skin, cleaning products, pet hair and cooking particles.<br>
Nearly 60% of dust particles inside the homes originated from their immediate outdoor environment – it was <a href="https://theconversation.com/wearing-shoes-in-the-house-is-just-plain-gross-the-verdict-from-scientists-who-study-indoor-contaminants-177542">dirt from outside</a>! Wind, your shoes or your pets can carry in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021002075?via%3Dihub">soil</a> and <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494">dust</a>-related contaminants. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wearing-shoes-in-the-house-is-just-plain-gross-the-verdict-from-scientists-who-study-indoor-contaminants-177542">Wearing shoes in the house is just plain gross. The verdict from scientists who study indoor contaminants</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Dog looks back after leaving muddy paw prints on carpet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506038/original/file-20230124-13-dx8set.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wind, your shoes or your pets can all carry contaminants into your home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The remaining 40% of home dust came from indoor sources. These included <a href="https://theconversation.com/microplastics-are-common-in-homes-across-29-countries-new-research-shows-whos-most-at-risk-189051">fibres from clothes, carpets and furnishings</a>, cleaning products, skin and hair.</p>
<p>Some dust sources can carry a cocktail of potentially harmful contaminants including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117064">microplastics</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.10.009">persistent organic pollutants</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.463">perfluorinated chemicals</a> (PFAS)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117593">trace metals</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.754657">bacterial communities</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106501">antimicrobial resistance genes</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The nature of the risk is related to how much of the contaminant you’re exposed to and for how long. The risks are greatest in children under the age of five. This is because they are small, closer to the floor and have frequent hand-mouth contact, which increases ingestion of contaminants. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506043/original/file-20230124-19-v1sh36.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young children’s size and behaviour leave them more at risk of exposure to indoor contaminants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/microplastics-are-common-in-homes-across-29-countries-new-research-shows-whos-most-at-risk-189051">Microplastics are common in homes across 29 countries. New research shows who's most at risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do contaminants build up in homes?</h2>
<p>Industrial activity has left a marked legacy of contaminants in many city neighbourhoods. We analysed road dust, garden soil and vacuum dust samples from 166 homes in Sydney to see how this risk translated to inside homes. We used high-magnification microscopy and <a href="https://www.climate-policy-watcher.org/earth-sciences/lead-isotopes-as-tools-for-source-identification.html">lead isotopic ratios</a> to understand trace metal composition in the samples. </p>
<p>On average, concentrations of trace metals arsenic, chromium, copper, manganese, lead and zinc were all higher inside homes than outside. This means homes are not only “accumulators” of trace metal contaminants but also important sources of a significant proportion of harmful contaminants that we can be exposed to. </p>
<p>The lead isotopic ratios, or the lead “fingerprints”, of each home and its garden soil matched. This confirms the soil is the main source of lead inside homes. </p>
<p>Most of this lead is the result of the pre-1970s use of high concentrations of lead in <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/chemicals-management/lead/lead-in-house-paint">paints</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2017.02.007">petrol</a>, which contaminated many garden soils. Even <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-lead-is-dangerous-and-the-damage-it-does-116506">low levels of lead exposure</a> can be harmful. Lead levels in some <a href="https://theconversation.com/elevated-lead-levels-in-sydney-back-yards-heres-what-you-can-do-68499">Sydney backyards</a> pose a risk for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2021.107151">urban veggie growers</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/backyard-hens-eggs-contain-40-times-more-lead-on-averagethan-shop-eggs-research-finds-187442">backyard chickens and their eggs</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/backyard-hens-eggs-contain-40-times-more-lead-on-average-than-shop-eggs-research-finds-187442">Backyard hens' eggs contain 40 times more lead on average than shop eggs, research finds</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>High-magnification images of house dust showed mineral particles that have been blown in or tracked in on shoes. The rest of the dust was elongated fibres and hair from indoor sources.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505802/original/file-20230123-23-4i7gf6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this high-magnification image of indoor dust, the long particles are fibres and the angular particles are of mineralogical origin from outdoors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Which homes are most at risk?</h2>
<p>We also collected information about each house, relevant activities and renovations at the property. We found house age, proximity to the city centre and renovations had the greatest influence on levels of lead and other trace metals in the home. </p>
<p>All homes more than 50 years old had higher concentrations of arsenic, copper, lead and zinc in their garden soil and house dust. They are typically <a href="https://iupui-earth-science.shinyapps.io/MME_Sydney/">located closer to city centres</a>, where early industrial activity has contaminated soils. </p>
<p>As older homes in former industrial areas are renovated, trace metal loads in these homes and gardens can increase. Walls and ceilings contain decades of dust. Old paint buried under more recent layers can also be released, causing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/3983094">lead exposure risks</a>. </p>
<p>It is critical that home renovators take appropriate remediation steps or <a href="https://painters.edu.au/Training-Courses/CPCCPD3031-Work-safely-with-lead-painted-surfaces-in-the-painting-industry.htm">employ a qualified paint professional</a> so lead dust isn’t spread across the area. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Old red paint peeling of weatherboards and a windowframe" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506041/original/file-20230124-11-mrdiel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Old lead-based paint is a major source of contamination, especially if it’s deteriorating or proper precautions aren’t taken when removing it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>8 ways to reduce your risk</h2>
<p>We spend about <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1zg3q68x#main">70% of our time at home</a>, which the pandemic has increased. Understanding the environmental <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/exposome/default.html">conditions and contaminants we encounter</a> and their effects on our health is more important than ever. </p>
<p>Armed with this knowledge, though, you can take some simple steps to reduce your exposure to contaminants in your home and garden:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>regularly vacuum carpeted areas with a good vacuum cleaner fitted with a <a href="https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/ventilation-air-purification/print-all">HEPA filter</a></p></li>
<li><p>wet mop and wet dust hard surfaces</p></li>
<li><p>mulch areas of exposed soil in your garden</p></li>
<li><p>use a quality doormat and wash it regularly, which can roughly <a href="https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/51148/1/Manuscript_File_Global_Pb_Modeling_Final_clean_1%20%281%29.pdf">halve the amount of lead</a> in your home within three months</p></li>
<li><p>leave your shoes at the door as they can <a href="https://theconversation.com/wearing-shoes-in-the-house-is-just-plain-gross-the-verdict-from-scientists-who-study-indoor-contaminants-177542">bring all sorts of nasties into the home</a></p></li>
<li><p>wash your hands and your veggies thoroughly </p></li>
<li><p>close windows on windy days</p></li>
<li><p>when renovating, use dust-mitigation strategies and personal protective equipment (PPE).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>You can dig a little deeper into what’s in your own home environment by sending your soil to <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com">VegeSafe Australia</a> or <a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/get-involved/citizen-science-program/gardensafe">EPA Victoria’s GardenSafe</a> for analysis. If you live in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom or Australia you can also send your vacuum dust to <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com">DustSafe</a> for testing. You will receive a report outlining what was in your sample, with links and advice on what to do next where necessary.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">House dust from 35 countries reveals our global toxic contaminant exposure and health risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Patrick Taylor received funding via an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant (2017-2020), CSG55984 ‘Citizen insights to the composition and risks of household dust’ (the DustSafe project). The VegeSafe and DustSafe programs are supported by publication donations to Macquarie University. He is a full-time employee of EPA Victoria, appointed to the statutory role of Chief Environmental Scientist.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carlos Ibañez del Rivero receives funding from Macquarie University and National Council on Science and Technology, Mexico (CONACYT) support number 739570 in the form of graduate stipends for his PhD program and partial funding for his tuition costs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kara Fry is a Senior Research and Development Officer at EPA Victoria. Previously, Kara was a research assistant for VegeSafe and DustSafe, supported by public donations to Macquarie University and an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant (2017-2020), CSG55984 ‘Citizen insights to the composition and risks of household dust’.</span></em></p>
Levels of trace metals inside can be higher than the sources of contamination outside. It underscores the need for households to take care to prevent those contaminants being brought indoors.
Mark Patrick Taylor, Victoria's Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Carlos Ibañez del Rivero, PhD candidate, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Kara Fry, Adjunct Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/182129
2022-06-15T03:16:47Z
2022-06-15T03:16:47Z
What did COVID do to my feet? How to fit back into shoes after wearing ugg boots at home and piling on the kilos
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460506/original/file-20220429-24-7onmgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C995%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/men-shoes-fashion-wedding-231404761">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve been spending a lot of time at home in ugg boots, not doing so much exercise and stacking on the coronakilos over the past two years or so, you may have noticed something strange going on with your feet.</p>
<p>They may not fit back into leather shoes. Or if you do manage to squeeze them in, your shoes feel really stiff and look set to give you blisters.</p>
<p>What’s going on? Have your feet expanded? Is this permanent? Do you need to buy new shoes?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-toe-jam-from-harmless-gunk-to-a-feast-for-bugs-177454">What is toe jam? From harmless gunk to a feast for bugs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Can your feet really widen?</h2>
<p>Our feet are flexible structures and adapt over time to our footwear – or lack of shoes. </p>
<p>That’s what happened during COVID lockdowns and long periods of being at home, when many people swapped regular shoes for comfortable options such as thongs, slides and ugg boots. Our feet responded by spreading out and becoming wider.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Row of ugg boots in different colours" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Still wearing ugg boots?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/warm-fuzzy-sheepskin-australian-boots-many-257592871">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That wasn’t a big surprise for podiatrists like us, health professionals who specialise in looking after people’s feet.</p>
<p>We’ve long known that people who walk barefoot – or wear wide shoes that give the foot plenty of room to spread out – have a <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1757-1146-6-28">much wider</a>
front of the foot (forefoot) than people who wear narrow shoes.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bones of the feet, showing metatarsals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your metatarsals (in red) have freedom to align normally when you go barefoot or wear ugg boots.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/metatarsal-bones-metatarsus-group-five-long-2135243299">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s because the lack of pressure from shoes allows the five, long <a href="https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/metatarsal-bones">metatarsal bones</a> in each of your feet to align normally; each metatarsal head (end of the metatarsal bone) takes the load as you walk. </p>
<p>Once your forefoot becomes wider, it stays like this unless you force it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5342900/">to adapt</a> by wearing narrow shoes.</p>
<p>How much wider a foot becomes, if given the space, depends on how elastic your ligaments are. Some people are “<a href="https://www.hypermobilityconnect.com/">hypermobile</a>” and have very “loose” joints because their ligaments are more stretchy. </p>
<p>Some people have described this as “<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Flintstone%20feet">Flintstone feet</a>” or “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-05/are-feet-copping-it-while-working-from-home-in-slippers/12314970">ugg boot foot</a>”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1382659198983548930"}"></div></p>
<h2>What else is going on?</h2>
<p>Being less physically active and leading a more sedentary lifestyle while at home for long periods may have also led to weaker core muscles. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3806175/">Core muscles</a> are the ones around our buttocks, hips, abdomen and lower back. They are particularly important in controlling the position and function of our legs and feet.</p>
<p>If you lose core fitness, your legs can rotate internally (your knees face each other), causing your feet to roll in (or pronate).</p>
<p>As this happens, your feet can become <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwX4_G6JZ_0">flatter</a>, changing their shape to become longer and wider.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/core-strength-why-is-it-important-and-how-do-you-maintain-it-160358">Core strength: why is it important and how do you maintain it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How about the coronakilos?</h2>
<p>Many of us have also put on coronakilos (also known as COVID kilos or quarantine kilos) during the pandemic. In fact, one in three Australians <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/one-in-three-australians-have-gained-weight-during">gained weight</a> during this time.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1517789108134813697"}"></div></p>
<p>An increase in body weight creates more force on the feet. If your feet have a normal or low arch, your feet will become flatter (will pronate more), creating <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-017-0214-5">increased pressure</a>, particularly under the mid-foot. </p>
<p>So if you put on weight, your feet can become longer and wider.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-kilos-why-now-is-the-best-time-to-shed-them-171933">COVID kilos: why now is the best time to shed them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why won’t my work shoes or boots fit?</h2>
<p>We’ve seen how, over time, our feet adapt to our shoes (or lack of shoes). But shoes can also adapt to our feet. This depends on what the shoes are made of.</p>
<p>Leather shoes are flexible and gradually mould to the shape of your feet. That’s because they absorb sweat from our feet and soften. But when we take a break from wearing them, the leather gradually dries and they harden.</p>
<p>So if you haven’t worn leather shoes or boots for a while, you need to “wear them in” again to soften them and avoid blisters.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1423550410942468098"}"></div></p>
<p>If you’ve been storing your shoes in a hot, dry environment, the leather will also gradually dry out and your shoes will feel much tighter when you next wear them.</p>
<p>Shoes made from <a href="https://www.comunitymade.com/blogs/posts/what-are-the-best-materials-for-shoes">synthetic materials and textiles</a> or <a href="https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/what-is-vegan-leather/">vegan leather</a> made from polyurethane, recycled plastic, cactus or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/02/californian-firm-touts-mushroom-leather-as-sustainability-gamechanger">mushrooms</a> tend to keep their shape, even when you don’t wearing them for some time. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vegan-leather-made-from-mushrooms-could-mould-the-future-of-sustainable-fashion-143988">Vegan leather made from mushrooms could mould the future of sustainable fashion</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Any tips for my feet?</h2>
<p>Getting back into your work shoes might take a bit of time, particularly if your feet have changed shape during the past two years. </p>
<p>It’s unlikely you’ll need new shoes unless they are damaged from drying out, you have put on a significant amount of weight, or your shoes were very narrow or a size too small pre-pandemic.</p>
<p>Here are some suggestions to build foot strength and ensure your shoes don’t damage your feet:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>make time to exercise your feet and ankles. You can try this <a href="https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recovery/foot-and-ankle-conditioning-program/">conditioning program</a> or watch these <a href="https://freedompah.com.au/foot-strengthening">videos</a> of foot strengthening exercises </p></li>
<li><p>focus on your core strength to improve your posture when sitting, standing and walking. Here’s a ten-minute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q-crQuxME0">workout</a> for beginners</p></li>
<li><p>visit a shoe store to measure your feet accurately. Some <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z">63-72%</a> of the population are wearing shoes the wrong length or width</p></li>
<li><p>invest in a pair of good quality shoes, runners or work boots and look after them well, rather than buying lots of cheap footwear that <a href="https://www.podiatry.org.au/foot-health-resources/incorrectly-fitted-shoes/incorrectly-fitted-shoes">might cause</a> foot deformity and a lifetime of <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z">pain</a>.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Robinson is affiliated with the Australasian Council of Podiatry Deans and the Australian Podiatry Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Baker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
No, you’re not imagining it. Your feet may be wider or longer and your shoes stiffer.
Caroline Robinson, Associate Professor Podiatry, Charles Sturt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/177542
2022-03-16T03:57:09Z
2022-03-16T03:57:09Z
Wearing shoes in the house is just plain gross. The verdict from scientists who study indoor contaminants
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450599/original/file-20220308-109743-ujxk6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C31%2C5280%2C3498&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You probably clean your shoes if you step in something muddy or disgusting (please pick up after your dog!). But when you get home, do you always de-shoe at the door?</p>
<p>Plenty of Australians don’t. For many, what you <a href="https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jam.13250">drag in on the bottom of your shoes</a> is the last thing on the mind as one gets home.</p>
<p>We are environmental chemists who have spent a decade examining the indoor environment and the contaminants people are exposed to in their own homes. Although our examination of the indoor environment, via our <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com">DustSafe program</a>, is far from complete, on the question of whether to shoe or de-shoe in the home, the science leans toward the latter. </p>
<p>It is best to leave your filth outside the door.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman removes shoes at the front door." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447469/original/file-20220221-18-1h8q5jy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It is best to leave your filth outside the door.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">House dust from 35 countries reveals our global toxic contaminant exposure and health risk</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What contaminants are in your home, and how did they get there?</h2>
<p>People spend up to 90% of their time indoors, so the question of whether or not to wear shoes in the house is not a trivial one.</p>
<p>The policy focus is typically on the outdoor environment for soil, air quality and environmental public health risks. However, there is growing regulatory interest in the question of <a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/2021/Handbook-Indoor-Air-Quality.pdf">indoor</a> <a href="https://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2021/new-who-global-air-quality-guidelines-aim-to-save-millions-of-lives-from-air-pollution">air quality</a>. </p>
<p>The matter <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09603123.2018.1457141?journalCode=cije2">building up</a> inside your home includes not just dust and dirt from people and pets shedding hair and skin.</p>
<p>About a third of it is <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es9003735">from outside</a>, either blown in or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/how-the-dust-in-your-home-may-affect-your-health/2019/07/19/9f716068-a351-11e9-bd56-eac6bb02d01d_story.html">tramped</a> in on those offensive shoe bottoms.</p>
<p>Some of the microorganisms present on shoes and floors are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/mechanisms-for-floor-surfaces-or-environmental-ground-contamination-to-cause-human-infection-a-systematic-review/37BF6318BD1473C4918A23C843B25D05">drug-resistant pathogens</a>, including hospital-associated infectious agents (germs) that are very difficult to treat.</p>
<p>Add in cancer-causing toxins from <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408444.2018.1528208">asphalt road residue</a> and endocrine-disrupting <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23273747.2016.1148803">lawn chemicals</a>, and you might view the filth on your shoes in a new light.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman rests her feet on the couch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447472/original/file-20220221-24-z7zsx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Please don’t do this.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A roll-call of indoor nasties</h2>
<p>Our work has involved the measurement and assessment of exposure to a range of harmful substances found inside homes including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2231210-antibiotic-resistance-genes-can-be-passed-around-by-bacteria-in-dust/">antibiotic-resistant genes</a> (genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00587">disinfectant chemicals in the home environment</a> </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117064">microplastics</a></p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/5/e044833.citation-tools">perfluorinated chemicals</a> (also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals” because of their tendency to remain in the body and not break down) used ubiquitously in a multitude of industrial, domestic and food packaging products</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/1276977">radioactive elements</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A strong focus of our work has involved assessing levels of <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">potentially toxic metals (such as arsenic, cadmium and lead)</a> inside homes across <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494">35 nations (including Australia)</a>.</p>
<p>These contaminants – and most importantly the dangerous neurotoxin lead – are odourless and colourless. So there is no way of knowing whether the dangers of lead exposure are only in your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106582">soils</a> or your <a href="https://www.abcb.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/2020/Lead_in_Plumbing_Products_and_Materials.pdf">water pipes</a>, or if they are also on your <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">living room floor</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/house-dust-from-35-countries-reveals-our-global-toxic-contaminant-exposure-and-health-risk-172499">science</a> suggests a very strong connection between the lead inside your <a href="https://www.mapmyenvironment.com">home and that in your yard soil</a>.</p>
<p>The most likely reason for this connection is dirt blown in from your yard or trodden in on your shoes, and on the furry paws of your adorable pets. </p>
<p>This connection speaks to the priority of making sure matter from your outdoor environment stays exactly there (we have tips <a href="https://www.360dustanalysis.com/pages/interpreting-your-results">here</a>).</p>
<p>A recent Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-why-ill-be-keeping-my-shoes-on-in-your-shoeless-home-11644503227">article</a> argued shoes in the home aren’t so bad. The author made the point that <em>E. coli</em> – dangerous bacteria that develop in the intestines of many mammals, including humans – is so widely distributed that it’s pretty much everywhere. So it should be no surprise it can be swabbed on shoe bottoms (96% of shoe bottoms, as the article pointed out). </p>
<p>But let’s be clear. Although it’s nice to be scientific and stick with the term <em>E. coli</em>, this stuff is, put more simply, the bacteria associated with poo. </p>
<p>Whether it is ours or Fido’s, it has the potential to make us very sick if we are exposed at high levels. And let’s face it – it is just plain gross.</p>
<p>Why walk it around inside your house if you have a very simple alternative – to take your shoes off at the door?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1518%2C4541%2C2090&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1518%2C4541%2C2090&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447449/original/file-20220221-26-1xza5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why walk muck around inside your house if you have a very simple alternative – to take your shoes off at the door?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>On balance, shoeless wins</h2>
<p>So are there disadvantages to having a shoe-free household? </p>
<p>Beyond the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/feet-toes-broken-pain-covid/2021/01/11/470d2efa-4a05-11eb-a9f4-0e668b9772ba_story.html">occasional stubbed toe</a>, from an environmental health standpoint there aren’t many downsides to having a shoe-free house. Leaving your shoes at the entry mat also leaves potentially harmful pathogens there as well.</p>
<p>We all know prevention is far better than treatment and taking shoes off at the door is a basic and easy prevention activity for many of us. </p>
<p>Need shoes for foot support? Easy – just have some “indoor shoes” that never get worn outside.</p>
<p>There remains the issue of the “sterile house syndrome,” which refers to increased rates of allergies among children. Some argue it’s related to overly sterile households.</p>
<p>Indeed, some dirt is probably beneficial as <a href="https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(10)00907-3/fulltext">studies</a> have indicated it helps develop your immune system and reduce allergy risk.</p>
<p>But there are better and less gross ways to do that than walking around inside with your filthy shoes on. Get outside, go for a bushwalk, enjoy the great outdoors. </p>
<p>Just don’t bring the muckier parts of it inside to build up and contaminate our homes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dust-and-where-does-it-all-come-from-168265">What is dust? And where does it all come from?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Patrick Taylor received funding via an Australian Government Citizen Science Grant (2017-2020), CSG55984 ‘Citizen insights to the composition and risks of household dust’ (the DustSafe project). He is an Honorary Professor at Macquarie University and a full time employee of EPA Victoria, appointed to the statutory role of Chief Environmental Scientist.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Filippelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It is best to leave your filth outside the door.
Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, Macquarie University
Gabriel Filippelli, Chancellor's Professor of Earth Sciences and Executive Director, Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute, IUPUI
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168635
2021-10-12T12:09:27Z
2021-10-12T12:09:27Z
4 reasons Americans are still seeing empty shelves and long waits – with Christmas just around the corner
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425565/original/file-20211008-17-1848jv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C161%2C2739%2C1926&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Consumers are still finding bare store shelves.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BizSupplyChainShortage/9134a5ed06114c559343ee171419d0d6/photo?Query=empty%20AND%20shelves&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=411&currentItemNo=6">AP Photo/David Zalubowski</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Walk into any U.S. store these days and you’re likely to see empty shelves. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/in-the-news/shortages-of-everyday-products-have-become-the-new-normal-why-they-wont-end-soon">Shortages of virtually every type of product</a> – from toilet paper and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58685889">sneakers</a> to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/gm-to-halt-most-large-pickup-truck-production-due-to-chip-shortage.html">pickup trucks</a> and chicken – are showing up across the country. Looking for a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/america-is-choking-under-an-everything-shortage/620322/">book</a>, bicycle, baby crib or <a href="https://www.wxyz.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/massive-boat-shortage-finds-people-waiting-3-6-months-to-get-one-used-boat-prices-rising">boat</a>? You may have to wait weeks or months longer than usual to get your hands on it.</p>
<p>I recently visited my local ski shop and they <a href="https://fasterskier.com/2021/08/the-supply-side-of-skis-during-the-upcoming-season">had hardly a boot, ski, goggle or pole</a> to speak of – two full months before ski season begins. The owner said he’s normally close to fully stocked around this time of the year.</p>
<p>This may seem a little odd to some Americans given the U.S. has been living with the COVID-19 pandemic for over 19 months. Shouldn’t supply chains stressed by the onset of the pandemic have worked out their kinks by now? </p>
<p>As someone who conducts research and teaches on the topic of <a href="https://ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu/profile/dx7877">global supply chain management</a>, I believe there are four primary – and interrelated – reasons for the continuing crunch. And unfortunately for many, they won’t be resolved by the holidays. </p>
<h2>1. Consumer demand soars</h2>
<p>When the pandemic first slammed into American shores in March 2020, companies were already preparing for a prolonged recession – and the typical resulting drop in consumer demand. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/major-apparel-brands-delay-cancel-orders-in-response-to-pandemic-risking-livelihoods-of-millions-of-garment-workers-in-their-supply-chains/">Retailers</a> and <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2021/06/15/car-chip-shortage-2021/7688773002/">automakers</a>, many of which had to close due to lockdowns, canceled orders from suppliers. </p>
<p>It made sense. By April, the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE">unemployment rate reached 14.8%</a>, its highest level since the Labor Department began collecting this data in 1948. And <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCE">consumer spending plunged</a>. </p>
<p>But something strange happened by the end of the summer of 2020. After the initial shock, consumer spending began to rebound and was nearing pre-pandemic levels by September, in no small part <a href="https://datalab.usaspending.gov/federal-covid-funding/">thanks to the trillions of dollars in aid</a> Congress was showering on the economy and people. </p>
<p>By March 2021, consumers were again spending record amounts of money on everything from <a href="https://secondmeasure.com/datapoints/coronavirus-spending-at-office-depot-staples/">new computers and chairs</a> for home offices to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/19/e-commerce-surged-during-covid-groceries-sporting-goods-top-gainers-.html">bikes and sporting goods</a> as people sought safer ways to get around and entertain themselves. <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCE">Demand for consumer goods has only climbed</a> since then. </p>
<p>While that’s generally good for businesses and the U.S. economy, the supply chain for most products hasn’t been able to keep up – or even catch up.</p>
<h2>2. Missing workers</h2>
<p>Even as demand from consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere surges, low vaccination rates at key points in the global supply chain are causing significant production delays.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html">Less than a third</a> of the global population has been fully vaccinated from COVID-19 – and <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">almost 98% of those people live in wealthier countries</a>. </p>
<p>Low levels of vaccinated workers in important manufacturing hubs such as <a href="https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/global-manufacturing-economy-reels-from-intensifying-supply-shortages-July21.html">Vietnam, Malaysia, India and Mexico</a> have caused <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/business/supply-chain-vietnam.html?referringSource=articleShare">production delays or reduced capacity</a>. </p>
<p>Vietnam, for example, plays a key role in the apparel and footwear industry, as the <a href="http://apparelresources.com/business-news/trade/top-10-apparel-exporting-countries-usa-january-21/">second-largest</a> supplier to the U.S. of shoes and clothes following China. <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">Less than 12% of its population</a> is fully vaccinated, and <a href="https://www.axios.com/vietnam-covid-vaccines-asia-apparel-nike-65762e5e-a49d-44fa-985f-623c58a613f5.html">many factories have been shuttered</a> for long periods due to outbreaks and government lockdowns. </p>
<p>Failure to vaccinate more people in developing countries more quickly will likely mean worker shortages will continue to plague supply chains for many months to come. </p>
<h2>3. Shipping container shortage</h2>
<p>Americans’ insatiable demand for more stuff has another consequence: Empty containers are piling up in the wrong places.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/global-shortage-of-shipping-containers-highlights-their-importance-in-getting-goods-to-amazon-warehouses-store-shelves-and-your-door-in-time-for-christmas-168233">Large steel shipping containers are pivotal</a> to global supply chains. In 2020, the U.S. imported more than <a href="https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0016.html">US$1 trillion</a> worth of <a href="https://www.exportgenius.in/blog/asia-top-10-export-countries-asian-countries-trade-data-383.php">goods</a> from Asian countries. And most of those consumer goods make their way to the U.S. on container ships.</p>
<p>To get a sense of the scale, a single container can hold <a href="https://www.icontainers.com/help/what-fits-20-foot-container/">400 flat-screen TVs</a> or 2,400 boxes of sneakers.</p>
<p>But many of those containers making their way to the U.S. <a href="https://www.hillebrand.com/media/publication/where-are-all-the-containers-the-global-shortage-explained">don’t have a way to get back</a> to Asia. The reasons involve a lack of workers, complicated customs procedures and a host of other problems. </p>
<p>The shortage has <a href="https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2021/09/16/10685630/shipping-container-rates-continue-to-soar-despite-increased-attentio">driven up the price of containers fourfold</a> over the past year, which in turn is contributing to higher consumer prices. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cargo ships filled with containers idle in waters off of California on a cloudy day as they await entry to the Port of Los Angeles or Port of Long Beach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425566/original/file-20211008-15535-17ryvn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Join the queue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/port-of-los-angeles?assettype=image&agreements=pa%3A119486&family=editorial&phrase=port%20of%20los%20angeles&sort=best">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Clogged ports</h2>
<p>All these problems are contributing to another challenge: U.S. ports have become extremely backed up with ships waiting to unload their cargo.</p>
<p>A large ship can hold 14,000 to 24,000 containers. That means one ship waiting to make port could hold as much as 5.5 million televisions or 33.6 million sneakers. </p>
<p>Right now, more than <a href="https://www.latimes.com/la-fi-port-container-ships-pg-photogallery.html">60 container ships</a> are anchored in the ocean off the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, unable to unload their stuff. Ports are also clogged in <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10029043/Dozens-ships-coast-New-York-wait-dock-countrys-second-largest-port.html">New York, New Jersey</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/business/shenzhen-port-delays.html">other locations</a> globally. </p>
<p>Normally, there is no wait for these ships to dock and unload their cargo. But the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/17/port-los-angeles-satellite">record demand for imports and shortages</a> of truckers, containers and other equipment has caused substantial delays. </p>
<h2>No end in sight</h2>
<p>Before COVID-19, global supply chains worked pretty efficiently to move products all around the world. Companies utilized a <a href="https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/lean-supply-chain-jit-inventory-covid-19/574693/">just-in-time philosophy</a> that minimized waste, inventories and expenses. </p>
<p>The cost of that, of course, is that even small problems like a hurricane or a factory fire can cause disruptions. And the pandemic has caused a meltdown.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 110,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>While I don’t expect a resolution to most of these problems until the pandemic ends, a few things could relieve some of the pressure, such as a shift away from consumer spending on goods to services and increased global vaccination rates. </p>
<p>But the difficult reality is American consumers should expect bare shelves, delays and other problems well into 2022.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168635/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Ketels does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
An expert on global supply chains explains why shortages of many products have persisted throughout the pandemic.
Kevin Ketels, Lecturer, Global Supply Chain Management, Wayne State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/162570
2021-06-11T10:10:48Z
2021-06-11T10:10:48Z
Fashion for pointy shoes unleashed a wave of bunions in medieval England
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405715/original/file-20210610-18-hsj9av.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C154%2C1840%2C1074&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Medieval_shoe.jpg">Marieke Kuijjer/wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The 14th century saw the arrival of an abundance of new styles of dress and footwear in Europe, coming in a wide range of fabrics and colours. Among these new fashion trends were “<a href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/poulaine/">poulaines</a>” – rather eccentric-looking medieval shoes with a lengthy pointed tip. </p>
<p>The archaeological and the <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/shoes-9781472531001/">historical record</a> suggests that this new fashion item was widely adopted by England’s medieval society and that, by the late 14th century, almost every type of shoe was at least slightly pointed, even in children. <a href="https://theshoeman647325124.wordpress.com/2020/02/19/the-history-of-poulaines-long-toed-shoes/">Shoe pointiness</a> would eventually became so extreme that in 1463 King Edward IV <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Costume-West-Francois-Boucher/dp/0500279101">passed a law</a> limiting toe-point length to less than two inches within London.</p>
<p>The adoption of this latest flavour of footwear was not without its risks. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2021.04.012">Our research</a>, conducted on medieval human skeletal remains from Cambridge in England, shows that hallux valgus of the big toe – commonly know as bunions – was surprisingly widespread at the time. </p>
<p>Seeing as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acr.23154">modern clinical research</a> has shown that the development of bunions is often linked to wearing tight, ill-fitting footwear, our study suggests that people in late medieval England paid a high price for footwear fashion – in bunions and broken bones.</p>
<h2>A build-up of bunions</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/bunion">bunion</a> is a minor deformity of the big toe. It angles the toe outward from the foot, with a bony protrusion forming at its base. By far the most common <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.553827823333931">contemporary cause</a> of bunions is constrictive boots and shoes – with high heels often blamed for today’s bunions. </p>
<p>It seems that shoes contributed to bunions many centuries ago too. Of the 177 individual skeletal remains we examined in our study, at least 18% had bunions. But when we dated the skeletons, we found that only 6% of people who’d been buried between the 11th and 13th centuries – long before the pointed shoe was in vogue – had suffered from bunions.</p>
<p>However, 27% of those buried at the height of the pointy-shoe fad (in the 14th and 15th century) had been hobbled by longstanding hallux valgus. It seems clear that the increasing pointiness of shoes unleashed a plague of bunions across medieval society.</p>
<h2>Class differences</h2>
<p>A further fascinating discovery was that hallux valgus was not equally common in all sections of society. Our evidence suggests it was most common in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Augustinians">Augustinian friars</a> and those wealthy inhabitants of the town who could afford to buy a plot in the friary cemetery when they died. </p>
<p>It was less common in poor inhabitants of the town, and least common in a nearby rural farming population. This would suggest that those with plenty of money could afford the fashionable pointed shoes that deformed their feet, while the poor, who wore round-toed shoes or went barefoot, were mostly protected from developing bunions.</p>
<p>Medieval records show how the church in Rome was unimpressed by monks and friars in spending money on fashionable shoes, gloves, hats and belts and repeatedly ordered them to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/510887">dress simply</a>. However, study of the feet of the Augustinian friars in Cambridge shows they ignored the requests from Rome when it came to matters of the sole.</p>
<h2>Broken bones</h2>
<p>Far from being a mild inconvenience, our study also found that individuals who’d suffered from bunions and were over the age of 45 were significantly more likely to fracture a bone as the result of a fall than were other adults of the same age who didn’t have hallux valgus. </p>
<p>This is explained by the important role the big toe has in maintaining upper body stability. When the big toe is laterally deviated (a characteristic of bunions) balance and stability while walking can be <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/90/1/110/2737678">negatively affected</a>. These findings are consistent with today’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268003309002010">clinical research</a>, which shows that hallux valgus is an independent risk factor for falls, especially in older adults. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Shoes with elongated points" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1003&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1003&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405877/original/file-20210611-23-89dk3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1003&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Modern-day pointy shoes by Comme des Garçons.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collection.maas.museum/object/532757">MAAS Museum</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Decades after their resurgence as the rock-and-roll era’s <a href="https://shoeiq.com/winklepickers/">winklepickers</a>, it appears that pointy-toed shoes are once again back à la mode. In 2015, the Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons introduced a spectacular, elongated shoe at <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/pointy-toe-shoe-for-men">Paris Fashion Week</a>, heralding another spike in the sales of pointy shoes. </p>
<p>But if the feet of medieval monks are anything to go by, the wearers of today’s pointy shoes should perhaps approach the footwear with caution. It appears that bunions had a negative impact on medieval people’s mobility and balance, increasing their risk of falls and broken bones. The same may well be true for today’s proponents of the pointy shoe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piers Mitchell has received funding from The Wellcome Trust for this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenna Dittmar has received funding from The Wellcome Trust for this research. </span></em></p>
The English paid a high price for medieval fashion: in bunions and broken bones.
Piers Mitchell, Affiliated Lecturer in Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge
Jenna Dittmar, Research Fellow, Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/150068
2020-12-29T20:39:57Z
2020-12-29T20:39:57Z
Flip flop: the un-Australian history of the rubber thong
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374067/original/file-20201210-20-ott2bj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C31%2C5160%2C3414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nun-yang-600w-402016462.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The shoe known in Australia as a “thong” is one of the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-timeline-flip-flops-2039012.html">oldest styles of footwear</a> in the world. </p>
<p>Worn with small variations across Egypt, Rome, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Korea, Japan and some Latin American cultures, the shoe was designed to protect the sole while keeping the top of the foot cool. </p>
<p>Australians have long embraced this practical but liberating shoe — but history shows we can’t really claim to it as our own.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-erotic-theatre-of-the-pool-edge-a-short-history-of-female-swimwear-127902">The erotic theatre of the pool edge: a short history of female swimwear</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Geishas, workers, soldiers</h2>
<p>Japan is often cited as the pivotal influence, perhaps because the culture features not only the thong’s closest ancestor (the flat-soled <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/88982">zori</a>, traditionally made from straw) but also the chunky <a href="https://japanobjects.com/features/geta">geta sandal</a>, famously worn by geisha for centuries in an effort to keep trailing kimono hems out of the mud. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Antique Japanese artwork of umbrellas and traditional footwear." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374078/original/file-20201210-13-wqyy6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Umbrellas and Geta by Ryūryūkyo Shinsai, circa 1816.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MET_DP138967.jpg">Wikimedia Commons/Metropolitan Museum of Art</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the late 19th century, Japan started to export aspects of its culture to diverse corners of the world. An early example was the <a href="https://hanahou.com/14.3/rubbah-soul">Hawaiian “slipper” or “slippah”</a>, a thong-like version of the zori with roots in the footwear of Japanese plantation worker immigrants in the 1880s. The slipper rapidly became part of the Hawaiian sartorial code (as in Australia, the shoe suited the relaxed outlook and beach lifestyle). </p>
<p>The popularity of the shoe may have spread after US soldiers, stationed in the East Pacific during the second world war, brought back souvenirs — <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Iconic_Designs/qsPuBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">but that claim is contested</a>. </p>
<p>During the 1940s the technology for mass-producing synthetic rubber was developed, and this undoubtedly increased dissemination and influence of the humble flip flop. However, it was not until around the same time Hawaii became the official 50th state of the USA in 1959 that thongs became a globally recognised symbol of leisure. </p>
<h2>Downunderfoot</h2>
<p>Despite the thongs’ strong identification with Australia, details of its exact arrival here are not easy to pin down. </p>
<p>From 1907 onwards, for example, advertisements described “Japanese sandals” with “<a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19472378">flexible wooden</a>” or jute soles, although the few illustrations that exist do not depict shoes with a thong fastening. </p>
<p>In 1924, Melbourne’s The Herald discussed <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243756589">criticism levelled at Melburnians</a> for walking with a “flip-flop movement, bringing the back of the heel down too heavily on the ground, causing jarring to the body and fatigue”. </p>
<p>Heels were suggested as a remedy for women with this complaint. Nearly a century later, podiatrists still <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/are-flip-flops-bad-for-you_n_59566a31e4b0da2c73230df6?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANGP3-hXygaiqLDx_hXFosmE10CKU5euv95eEuziIfixnp5_ajoEnpWNXHJ3MsMblDd3UxaVaGFfbs5QDzAob0Jae_9aFEhY7U-q9nH4svbuwXimWGULRewUgPc72Jv9vaKT0Aqi756yabcKUHzfqm8GU_QaH4Tvp695twhkc842">recommend avoiding</a> thongs for long term wear. (These days, they’re <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hands-down-these-are-the-worst-shoes-for-your-feet_b_581bad9ee4b01022624114ba">not fans of heels either</a>.) </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372487/original/file-20201202-19-18rvgxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thongs were standard beachwear by the 60s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46932284">Australian Women's Weekly</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1946, department store David Jones promoted “Olympia”, a Greek-inspired thong sandal with additional ankle straps. But it was not until around 1957, when Kiwi businessmen Maurice Yock and John Cowie both claimed credit for what they termed the “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/160517/Origins-of-jandal-debated">jandal</a>” — a portmanteau of “Japanese” and “sandal” — that Australia’s connection with the flip flop became more established and, at the same time, questioned. </p>
<p>In 1959, Dunlop in Australia imported <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Iconic_Designs/qsPuBQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">300,000 pairs of thongs</a> from Japan. They started producing them internally in 1960. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Thong in bin, foot in plaster cast." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374090/original/file-20201210-16-bmbctf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Safety Council of Australia poster consigning thongs to the bin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/133447">State Library of Victoria</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/take-a-plunge-into-the-memories-of-australias-favourite-swimming-pools-128928">Take a plunge into the memories of Australia's favourite swimming pools</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As Australia’s tourism boomed during the 1950s and 60s, so too did its sartorial image, with <a href="https://maas.museum/inside-the-collection/2012/01/20/rubber-thong/">thongs taking centre stage</a> as the footwear of choice for an egalitarian, laid-back society. </p>
<p>So widespread did they become, in fact, that by the mid 1960s bans were being sought by state governments to avoid frequent injuries at the workplace — <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107882024">especially construction sites</a>. </p>
<p>In the name of professionalism, in 1978 the Queensland government decreed that <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110927967">schoolteachers not be permitted to wear thongs to work</a>. This year, they have been banned for wear at Australia Day citizenship ceremonies — a decision reflecting a wish for greater “<a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/australia-day/thongs-banned-from-australia-day-citizenship-ceremonies-ng-b881442122z">significance and formality</a>” to be represented at official events. </p>
<p>But the rubbery love affair endured, perhaps shown most ardently when <a href="https://radioinfo.com.au/news/no-you-werent-hallucinating-when-you-saw-giant-thong-motorway-today">Kylie Minogue made her entrance</a> as part of the Sydney 2000 Olympics atop a giant rubber thong carried by lifeguards. </p>
<h2>Dressing up, dressing down</h2>
<p>Thong-related concerns have not been limited to Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8670164">In 2005</a> members of an American college women’s lacrosse team wore them to the White House to meet President Bush. There followed a furor over whether this brazen act was disrespectful, a distraction from the women’s achievements or signalled a casual shift in attitudes to leaders (<a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4777262">and fashion</a>) in the years after the Clinton sex scandals. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Group of young women meet the US President Bush, some are wearing thongs with formal dresses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374088/original/file-20201210-21-11ko17x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Northwestern University lacrosse team (and their flip flops) go to Washington.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northwestern_University_lacrosse_team_flip_flops.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since the late 1990s it has been possible to buy more formal heeled versions. Although these were widely mocked as expensive aberrations of the style, they looked to making a <a href="https://www.thezoereport.com/p/kendall-jenners-flip-flops-will-convince-you-to-resurrect-the-throwback-trend-18183570">Kardashian-led comeback</a> in recent times. </p>
<p>Branded versions are also available, with couturiers like Hermès selling a very unassuming flip flop <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/shortcuts/2019/sep/03/pass-notes-hermes-flip-flops">for a cool A$600</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBAxrE3n0Gg","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>There is a poignant irony in the fact that thongs are the most popular kind of shoe in developing countries, precisely because of their cheap manufacture (often made from recycled rubber tyres) and consequently, very low purchase cost. </p>
<p>This practice of <a href="https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/xwmxgj/class-appropriation-in-fashion">appropriating “ordinary” or “working class” clothing</a> — transitioning it from the practical to the fashionable — is nothing new. We’ve seen it with <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-singlet-a-short-history-of-an-australian-icon-145545">singlets</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/dec/13/how-to-wear-boilersuits">boilersuits</a>. <a href="https://www.worldofclogs.com/clog-blog/the-origins-of-clogs/#:%7E:text=Carved%20wooden%20clogs%20originated%20in,footwear%20by%20the%2014th%20Century.&text=The%20clogs%20were%20then%20painted,depending%20on%20the%20local%20fashion.">Clogs</a> are another footwear example. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Thongs worn on a seaside pier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374089/original/file-20201210-20-6bziw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australians take their thongs seriously. You can tell because they don’t call them ‘thozzas’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/low-section-woman-wearing-slippers-600w-141061453.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than a form of fashion whimsy, Australians take their thongs seriously. Even the naming of them — after the structural make-up of the shoe’s fastening rather than the onomatopoeic “flip flop” used by other countries — flies in the face of the Australian preference for <a href="https://theconversation.com/rona-iso-quazza-words-of-the-year-speak-to-our-australian-take-on-covid-150949">shortened diminutives and nicknames</a>. </p>
<p>That shows true commitment, but also that thongs are not really so dinky-di, after all. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-vizards-face-gloves-and-window-hoods-a-history-of-masks-in-western-fashion-143994">Friday essay: vizards, face gloves and window hoods – a history of masks in western fashion</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150068/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lydia Edwards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
With protection underfoot and ventilation on top, the thong is the perfect summer shoe for Australian conditions. Pity it’s not really Australian.
Lydia Edwards, Fashion historian, Edith Cowan University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/146599
2020-09-23T14:23:29Z
2020-09-23T14:23:29Z
Curved shoe tips make it easier to move – but research suggests they may also weaken foot muscles
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359567/original/file-20200923-19-19xew3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5636%2C3387&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Comfortable shoes with a curved tip make it easier to move, but weaken foot muscles.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-lifestyle-young-fitness-woman-running-585640775">lzf/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Evolution dictates that the human body adapts to cope with stresses present in the environment. The removal of stress from our environment means we cease to use that adaption. This is why your muscles grow in response to stress at the gym but shrink when you spend too much time on the couch. Comfort is the opposite to stress – and, in many cases, it can be the source of many illnesses and health conditions. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-71247-9">new study</a>, published in Scientific Reports, suggests the same might be true when it comes to the type of shoes we wear. The researchers found that our comfortable shoes (namely shoes that had a curved tip at the toe, like running shoes) make it easier for us to move – but the trade-off for this comfort is that we develop weaker muscles in our feet. This muscle weakness may lead to injuries, such as plantar fasciitis – a common condition that causes inflammation and pain around the heel and arch of your foot. </p>
<p>Shoes are necessary, as they shield us from stresses in our environment, such as exposure to random objects, such as twigs or glass, that may inflict cuts or bruises. They also keep our feet warm and dry. But humans didn’t always wear shoes. In fact, it was only about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440305000932">30,000 years ago</a> that our ancestors discovered there may be some survival advantages in avoiding skin perforation from sharp objects or burns resulting from exposure to extreme temperatures. </p>
<p>So they invented minimalist foot coverings, primarily made of plants or animal skins. Although these coverings shielded us from dangerous exposures, they certainly weren’t designed for comfort and so the stress to our muscles, bones, joints and tendons remained largely the same.</p>
<p>A key factor in our evolved ability to walk and run is the ability of our toes to <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/17/jeb174425">bend backwards</a> as we lift our bodies upwards and forwards. Our toes, which are shorter than our ape-like ancestors, help us <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/212/5/713">use less energy</a> when walking and running. There is less muscle work required to stabilise and control the movement of smaller toes. </p>
<p>The researchers of this latest study have found that the upward curved toe part of our modern cushioned shoes holds our toes in a position which means <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-71247-9">they move less</a> during walking and running. Known as the toe spring, the front of our shoes help us to roll forward with less effort, removing much of the stress of the activity from the feet. The researchers suggest that this may mean the muscles in our feet and toes have to do less work to stiffen our arch and control our toes during movement.</p>
<p>To obtain these results, the researchers had 13 healthy adults (aged 19 to 33), who always wear shoes, walk in four different pairs of sandals in which the toe springs (the curved tip of the shoe) were set at 10, 20, 30 and 40 degree angles (keeping the toes increasingly bent backwards). They then measured the movement of the toe joints in each condition using markers placed on the foot and compared it to when the participants were walking barefoot. The total range of movement at the toes decreased with increasing toe spring angle and therefore, so did the total amount of work required at the joints. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pair of running shoes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359568/original/file-20200923-16-1j5wojy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Toe springs’ remove stress from the feet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dark-blue-sport-shoes-on-white-1051117976">Vacharapong W/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The role of foot muscles is to support the arch and stabilise the toes. Modern shoe-wearing populations demonstrate <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2019/01000/Walking_in_Minimalist_Shoes_Is_Effective_for.14.aspx">smaller and weaker foot muscles</a> and a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21916-7">higher prevalence of flat feet</a> compared to people who are habitually barefoot or wear minimalist shoes, which are designed to replicate being barefoot, and include less cushioning and reduced or no arch support. </p>
<p>It’s this increased comfort and reduced effort that causes muscular changes, and which may also link shoes with toe springs to <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/6/1/e000577">plantar fasciitis</a>. The plantar fascia is a long and broad elastic tissue that runs the length of the sole of your foot. It becomes injured from repetitive strain associated with constant deformation of the arch. </p>
<p>It’s thought that the decline in foot muscles which help to maintain arch stiffness is partly responsible for the overload of this structure. Plantar fasciitis is the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30787648/">most common running injury</a> associated with the foot. Findings from one <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26130697/">study</a> suggest it is more common in people who run in shoes compared to those who run barefoot. Other research also suggests that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-35980-6">running shoes</a> may contribute to <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/6/1/e000577.full">other common injuries</a>. </p>
<p>There is evidence emerging from <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333674780_Barefoot_Running_As_A_Treatment_For_Plantar_Fasciitis_In_The_Runner_A_Case_Series">case studies</a> suggesting barefoot running on a grass can help to <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijatt/22/5/article-p26.xml">relieve the symptoms of plantar fasciitis</a>. Research also shows people who spend most of their time barefoot or using minimalist foot coverings have <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0268003316300675">larger</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21916-7">stronger</a> foot muscles. </p>
<p>Although, there is no definitive evidence that modern shoes cause plantar fasciitis, it is worthy of further investigation given the mounting evidence pointing in that direction. </p>
<p>Going barefoot or wearing minimalist shoes can help people to build stronger and healthier foot muscles, as they promote the foot’s natural movement. But if you do ditch your comfortable shoes, it’s important to remember to gradually increase time spent walking in this way. It may also be wise to reduce comfort in other ways, such as moving more and sitting less. This will help to condition your whole body in way that is more suited for movement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146599/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Francis receives research funding from Vivobarefoot.</span></em></p>
Plantar fasciitis is a common injury.
Peter Francis, Lecturer in Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Science, Leeds Beckett University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/131249
2020-02-06T11:50:08Z
2020-02-06T11:50:08Z
Nike Vaporfly ban: why World Athletics had to act against the high-tech shoes
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313933/original/file-20200206-43095-1gdejg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bangkok-thailand-october-2019-runner-wearing-1529219165">Nattawit Khomsanit/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge last year became the first person to run a marathon distance in <a href="https://theconversation.com/kipchoges-marathon-success-remains-a-mystery-some-clues-from-my-research-117040">under two hours</a>. But instead of being a pure celebration of human performance, the achievement (though not technically an official world record) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/sports/marathon-running-nike-vaporfly-shoes.html">led to criticism</a> of Kipchoge’s shoes, an advanced design of the Nike Vaporfly. It represented an intensification of concern that the Vaporfly design was turning the humble trainer into an unfair form of performance enhancement.</p>
<p>Now Kipchoge’s Vaporflys <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/31/sport/nike-world-athletics-vaporfly-alphafly-ban-spt-intl/index.html">have been banned</a> from competition in a recent move by running’s governing body, World Athletics. Despite this, other versions of the shoes will <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-vaporfly-shoes-avoid-ban-but-prototypes-regulated-2020-1?r=US&IR=">still be legal</a>. The <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/modified-rules-shoes">new rules</a> also set a maximum sole thickness and a limit to the number of internal carbon plates that are used to help manage the runner’s energy. In addition, any new design of shoes has to be made available for anyone to buy four months before they can be used in competition. </p>
<p>These amendments are arguably a balanced and pragmatic approach that addresses some of the problems that new technology can pose to competitive sport. In this case, all of running’s world records will remain, but a firmer line has now been drawn before footwear design advances further. </p>
<p>But this outcome could still be criticised because Nike’s competitors now only have until spring to respond to the Vaporfly’s design, otherwise their shoes will not be legal for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic & Paralympic Games. Either way, it will likely still affects the sport at both a professional and amateur level. </p>
<p>We know that the kind of technology that the Vaporfly incorporates can give runners an advantage. A study published in 2017 demonstrated that such shoes were <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0811-2">4% more efficient</a> than several of their competitors. </p>
<p>But the influence of any new form of sports technology should still ensure that the sport remains fair and accessible to everyone. A review <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40064-015-1331-x">published in 2015</a> proposed that sports technology could be considered inappropriate if people can’t access it, afford to purchase it, or safely use it.</p>
<p>These kind of issues have occurred before in <a href="https://theconversation.com/wafer-thin-bicycles-speedy-shorts-go-faster-trainers-controversial-technology-in-sport-126301">several other sports</a>. In 2009, the world of athletics debated whether Paralympian Oscar Pistorius could (and should) compete against able-bodied runners because it was argued that his prostheses <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461390802635483">were performance enhancing</a>. (He eventually ran in the 2012 Olympic Games.)</p>
<p>Likewise, once full-body and specially textured swimsuits started rapidly rewriting swimming’s world records, their <a href="http://www.cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/v3/a07/cu11v3a7.pdf">adoption was challenged</a> and eventually outlawed. In that case (like that of Kipchoge’s Vaporflys), athletes who couldn’t get hold of the swimsuits were left at a competitive disadvantage if they had sponsorship or endorsement with brands that didn’t produce the equipment.</p>
<p>There are other concerns too. Some athletes can also feel coerced into using new technology – whether it is optimal or not – for fear of being left behind. Likewise, a sport can be deskilled or somehow made easier by allowing new technology. This was why the unique string pattern on tennis rackets known as “spaghetti stringing” was <a href="https://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/02/question-day-revisiting-spaghetti-racquet/46306/">ultimately banned</a> in the 1970s because it made it easier to control and create spin on the ball.</p>
<h2>Impact on amateurs</h2>
<p>All of these ethical concerns require consideration when competitive rules are constructed and work together with any scientific measurements to ensure the most robust regulations are created. Yet, while this debate usually centres on elite athletes, Nike’s Vaporflys could also profoundly change what recreational runners will be able to achieve themselves. </p>
<p>While running shoes now have functional limits placed upon them for major competitions, the rules will be unlikely to apply to amateurs who run or race for mere enjoyment. It’s not inconceivable that the gap between amateur and professional could narrow slightly if elites cannot use the same shoes as everyone else.</p>
<p>This situation could already hypothetically occur, in that a recreational jogger with a lower-limb amputation could use a highly effective bionic limb to run. Yet a Paralympian can’t use much more than a composite spring when racing under current <a href="https://www.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/document/180112123931374_World+Para+Athletics+Rules+and+Regulations+2018-2019+-+January+2018.pdf">International Paralympic Committee rules</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the proposed gains of the Vaporfly shoes will not suddenly turn recreational donkeys into racehorses. But at an elite level it is possible for a top athlete to suddenly become uncompetitive if they don’t keep up with the kind of innovation Nike has demonstrated. Irrespective of the World Athletics decision, running has moved from being a footrace to an arms race.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bryce Dyer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
New rules on athletes’ trainers were on the cards since Eliud Kipchoge ran the first sub-two hour marathon in special Vaporflys.
Bryce Dyer, Deputy Head of Department, Bournemouth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/106068
2018-11-22T18:49:26Z
2018-11-22T18:49:26Z
Tennis, running, netball: do I really need a specific shoe for a specific sport?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246357/original/file-20181120-161612-qyma92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents can fork out big bucks for different shoes for different sports for their children. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/running-children-young-athletes-run-kids-772039159?src=5DS5OducNQY4fwmCHqKwTA-1-15">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past 40 years the “modern” sports shoe has evolved from the all-purpose sneaker to an abundance of sport-specific shoes. Given we have so much choice – and with encouragement from big brands and keen shop assistants – it seems logical to select footwear designed specifically for each activity. </p>
<p>But what does the evidence say? Do we really need to wear a unique shoe for each activity we participate in?</p>
<p>The answer is a little less clear than you might imagine. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-should-spend-more-time-barefoot-to-encourage-a-healthier-foot-structure-100289">Children should spend more time barefoot to encourage a healthier foot structure</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What you want in a shoe</h2>
<p>Before we look at the evidence, let’s think about what we want from our sports shoes. </p>
<p>For me, there are three key considerations that can help guide the shoe selection process: </p>
<ol>
<li>the selected shoe should minimise the risk of injury in light of the sports it will be used for, and with respect to the uniqueness of the person wearing it</li>
<li>our sports shoe should allow us to maximise our athletic performance, but not at the expense of increasing injury risk (let’s face it, if you get injured then your athletic performance is likely to decrease anyway!) </li>
<li>our shoes should be comfortable – this may sound obvious, but some of the world’s most esteemed footwear researchers suggest that increased footwear comfort is associated with <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/20/1290.long">fewer injuries and improved sporting performance</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p>With this in mind, we need to consider the unique physical demands of each sport and what shoe features are required to help prevent injury and maximise performance. </p>
<p>For some sports, the benefits of using a specific shoe are quite obvious. Most would agree that football boots with built-in spriggs will help maintain traction while avoiding a tackle, while a stiff-soled cycling shoe will help power production through bike pedals during a hill climb. </p>
<p>However, the benefits of using a sport-specific shoe during other activities may not be as apparent. For example, is there really that much difference between netball, basketball and tennis shoes? </p>
<h2>Court shoes versus running shoes</h2>
<p>With the exception of basketball shoes typically having a “high-top” upper, all other features of court shoes can be quite similar – they all aim to provide support, cushioning and traction during multi-directional movements. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246366/original/file-20181120-161624-1784hjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">My high tops sure do look good.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/2xvOUe__syg">Gold Chain Collective/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To achieve this, common features among court shoes include having a re-enforced toe, a slightly “flared” forefoot, a relatively flat sole, and being made from strong and durable materials in the uppers and outsoles (the base). </p>
<p>In contrast, running shoes are traditionally designed for repetitive straight line movements performed over long distances. So running shoes are generally lightweight and have a highly cushioned midsole – which is intended to dampen impact forces – while also being flexible through the forefoot to assist with propulsion.</p>
<p>These differences in shoe design all sound good in theory, but are they actually effective in reducing injury and maximising performance? </p>
<p>Unfortunately the science on this topic is scarce, but let’s look at what we know. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-how-to-rock-white-sneakers-without-eco-guilt-85989">Sustainable shopping: how to rock white sneakers without eco-guilt</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The evidence is scarce</h2>
<p>A clinical trial found using high-top shoes for basketball does not help <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/036354659302100416">prevent ankle sprains</a> – and a separate <a href="https://shapeamerica.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/026404197367146#.W_OB8xMzY0p">study</a> found that high-top shoes actually decrease vertical jump height and running performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246368/original/file-20181120-161612-1w8v4w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of these shoes may be ok for running - mostly depending on whether you find them comfortable or not.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/collection-various-sport-summer-shoes-56407381?src=MdMmGZHF-gVZbfFk47v0uQ-1-35">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Based on these studies, I rarely recommend that people seek out a high-top shoe for court sports (but I don’t avoid them either). The priority should be on selecting a court shoe that fulfills the needs of each individual (current and past injuries must be considered) and their sport. All court shoes – irrespective of whether they are labelled a tennis, basketball or netball shoe – should be looked at. Much of this process is guided by theory and comfort given the lack of research in this area.</p>
<p>With respect to running, you may be surprised to learn that choice of running shoes for prevention of injury is also still largely theoretical. </p>
<p>Over the past decade there has been an increase in research focused on determining the features of running shoes that are most important for the prevention of injury, but none have investigated how running shoes compare to other <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=logical+fallacies+running+shoe">sport-specific shoes for this purpose</a>. </p>
<p>Although there is uncertainty around the benefits running shoes provide for the prevention of running injuries, we do know that running performance is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28483557">improved as shoes get lighter</a>. As running shoes are generally lighter than all other footwear options, using them will likely result in greater athletic performance compared to non-running shoes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-tech-to-fetish-shoes-in-fairy-tales-are-a-mark-of-status-93948">From tech to fetish, shoes in fairy tales are a mark of status</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Can I buy all-purpose shoes?</h2>
<p>A common question is whether a single all-purpose sports shoe is OK. </p>
<p>Science can’t answer this without the right evidence. But in general terms, an all-purpose shoe (i.e. something branded as a “cross-trainer” in the shops) will generally be fine for someone who participates in an array of activities, particularly if being completed at low intensities. </p>
<p>However, if you’re playing sports at a competitive level, or doing the same activity regularly, then it makes sense to wear sport-specific shoes – although more research is needed to confirm this recommendation. </p>
<p>It’s also worth stating that if you have been injury free in your current sports shoe, and you’re performing at a level you are happy with, then you may already have the right shoes on your feet. </p>
<p>And don’t forget, make sure your shoes are comfortable!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106068/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Bonanno does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
If you’ve been injury-free in your current sports shoe, and you’re performing at a level you are happy with, you may already have the right shoes on your feet.
Daniel Bonanno, Lecturer (Teaching and Research) and PhD Candidate, La Trobe University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93948
2018-08-21T20:00:20Z
2018-08-21T20:00:20Z
From tech to fetish, shoes in fairy tales are a mark of status
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227357/original/file-20180712-27021-ta94xs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The glass slippers in Disney's 2015 film version of Cinderella.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Allison Shearmur Productions, Beagle Pug Films, Genre Films</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fairy tales have always had amazing, wearable tech: from the red shoes and the glass slipper to puss’s boots. Disney’s latest princess, Shuri, the Wakandan teen genius of Marvel’s Black Panther (2018), showing off the “sneakers” she has designed and developed, is the most recent hero to understand a shoe’s potential.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227353/original/file-20180712-27039-z7io2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shuri, the high-tech ‘sneaker’ designer in Black Panther.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fairy tales, the seven-league boots cover vast distances in a single step, centuries before Neil Armstrong’s space boots landed on the moon with “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”.</p>
<p>Charles Perrault’s Little Thumbling (1697) even turns the boots into a financial asset. When a poor woodcutter and his wife abandon their children, the children take refuge in an ogre’s house. The youngest, Little Thumbling, thwarts the ogre’s plans to eat them and they flee. The ogre, wearing seven-league boots, gives chase, but tires and falls asleep. The diminutive hero steals the boots from his feet and with them starts a lucrative courier business.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227363/original/file-20180712-27024-168p1eq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An ogre wearing seven-league boots by Gustave Doré.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hans Christian Andersen’s The Galoshes of Fortune (1838) features time and space travelling galoshes, taking wearers to the moon or back to the Middle Ages. </p>
<p>In many tales, shoes are about desire and innovation.</p>
<h2>Curses and courtly style</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227355/original/file-20180712-27030-6akuup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Red Shoes, illustration by Anne Anderson.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once upon a time, a little girl took such joy in red shoes, she was cursed. She could not stop dancing in her shoes. She went to the executioner and asked him to cut off her feet. The red shoes, still fused to her feet, danced off into the woods. Such was the fate of Hans Christian Andersen’s shoe-obsessed Karen. </p>
<p>The shoes are the stars of this 1845 tale. Graphic violence, overt religion, and rigid class hierarchy all conspire to condemn a child for her footwear. When the tale begins, Karen is so poor she is barefoot, with wooden shoes for winter. She is given a pair of shoes cobbled from scraps of red cloth and wears them to her mother’s funeral. Karen’s love of red shoes begins there and when she dares to wear those intended for an aristocrat to her Confirmation, she condemns herself. As Hilary Davidson concludes in her essay in <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/shoes-9781845204433/">Shoes: A History from Sandals to Sneakers</a>, red shoes embody sex and sin.</p>
<p>Cinderella’s glass slipper, meanwhile, was conjured by Charles Perrault in Stories or Tales of Times Past, with Morals (1697). Perrault worked within the orbit of Versailles, the court of Louis XIV, and he associated with fashionable, aristocratic fairy-tale authors like Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d’Aulnoy. He had more than a passing knowledge of fashion. </p>
<p>The slipper, fashioned by the fairy godmother’s wand, was a slip on, high-heeled mule, fashionable at court and even a little risqué, having associations with the boudoir. In a culture of glass innovation, the artistry of such a shoe would have appealed to Perrault’s aristocratic audience. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227358/original/file-20180712-27018-1cotdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The glass slipper has been reimagined many times. Here it features in the 1950 Walt Disney film Cinderella.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Walt Disney Productions</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To this day, the impossibility of the glass slipper inspires. The shoe has been reimagined many times in satins, plastics and crystals. In Disney’s Cinderella (2015), the shoe is solid crystal and only fits on Cinderella’s foot thanks to CGI. </p>
<p>But Cinderella didn’t always wear glass. In Europe, the first Cinderella to appear in print is Zezolla, known as the Cinderella Cat, included in the Neapolitan author, Giambattista Basile’s The Tale of Tales (1634-36). She loses a <em>chianiello</em>. Some English translations refer to this as a patten, worn to protect one’s shoes from the street.</p>
<p>However, the <em>chianiello</em> is related to the remarkable platform shoes with wooden or cork bases, worn by women in the Renaissance. While some served as overshoes, many were decorative, featuring ornate velvet and other trimmings, and worn in their own right. Red was a common colour and the shoes have long been associated with courtesans. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227359/original/file-20180712-27024-sjglo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red was a popular colour for platform shoes worn during the Renaissance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Zezolla loses her shoe while fleeing the King, who then delivers a long, impassioned speech about the shoe as he embraces it. It is an erotic gesture.</p>
<p>Madame D’Aulnoy, the author who gave us the term “fairy tale”, presents a quick-witted Cinderella – Finette Cendron (1697). After going to the ball, she loses her slipper walking home in the dark. It is a red velvet mule, embroidered with pearls, the height of fashion in Louis XIV’s court. The following day, the Prince discovers it while hunting in the forest. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227360/original/file-20180712-27033-z03zzw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1128&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 1910 illustration of The Brothers’ Grimm Cinderella.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>D’Aulnoy’s prince frankly has a shoe fetish. He sleeps with it under his pillow. He caresses it. He languishes with love for the mule. He drives his parents and physicians to their wits’ ends. Presumably, he marries Finette to obtain the other slipper. For d’Aulnoy, it is not the woman who has a mad passion for shoes, but the Prince.</p>
<p>By the time Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm edited their fairy tale collections, fashion had shifted from the mule to the fabric or kid slipper. Their Cinderella (1812/1857) dances in gold and silver shoes: not solid metal, but likely embroidered in metallic thread. They are easily damaged. After her stepsisters cut off bits of their feet to try on the slipper, it is returned to Cinderella’s foot as a ruined, revolting object.</p>
<h2>Status objects</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=922&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227362/original/file-20180712-27015-1i3mcet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1159&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Puss in boots by Leon Bakst, 1921.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the Grimms’ The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes (1815), too, shoes are ruined. The King wants someone to solve the mystery of how his daughters wear out their shoes every night. They were dancing. Slippers of the period had thin soles. If they’d only had sturdier shoes, the princesses might never have been found out.</p>
<p>In fairy tales, only the very poor or mistreated have no shoes or shoes of wood or iron. Good shoes allow mobility, protecting the feet from the conditions of terrain and weather. Shoes are a sign of respectability, even authority. </p>
<p>In Perrault’s The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots (1697), the feline con artist requests boots before helping his master. He receives two boots, giving him an upright stance that, along with speech, makes him a match for humans. Earlier tales by Basile and Straparola feature female cats, but they don’t have boots and they don’t become great lords like Perrault’s tomcat.</p>
<p>From tech to fetish, shoes are the sole of human status, the fairy tales tell us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
There is nothing new about a shoe fetish. Fairy tales have long featured amazing, high-tech footwear: from seven-league boots to glass slippers to red shoes.
Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario, Adjunct Research Fellow, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96769
2018-07-09T11:25:06Z
2018-07-09T11:25:06Z
How your flip-flops reveal the dark side of globalisation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226690/original/file-20180709-122259-1kbt0qo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-legs-wearing-flip-flops-near-300074435?src=pbnsI56p47yV4Zb1R67kAA-1-65">SunCity/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As you pack for your holidays, don’t forget to pack your flip-flops – and treat them with respect, they may have travelled more than you and witnessed things you cannot see. Flip flops may look simple and cheap, but they are part of a bigger and more complicated story.</p>
<p>Flip-flops are the world’s <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Flip_Flop.html?id=L9V8ngEACAAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y">highest selling shoe</a> – outselling even trainers. Uncounted billions of them are made every year, often in small factories in China. Flip-flop sales rise with world population. As one billion people globally still walk barefoot, they are a first step into the world of shoes across the global south. </p>
<p>Many of us may regard them as beachwear, but in some places they are a prized pair of shoes for everyday use. They also tell stories of how globalisation actually works on the ground, as I discovered in following them along what I call the <a href="http://www.flipfloptrail.com">flip-flop trail</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226681/original/file-20180709-122262-1vmx591.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Printing flip-flops.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Michael Tan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Flip-flops are made from plastics, and so their story begins in the hydrocarbon economy – in the oilfields of the Middle East. The raw material from which they are made is drilled by migrant workers from Syria and southern India, who live in desert camps and work on drilling rigs for 12-hour shifts in searing heat. </p>
<p>Some of the petrochemicals extracted from crude oil are made into little plastic pellets in giant unpeopled plants in the South Korean city of Daesan, an important centre globally producing the building blocks that make all kinds of plastics. These pellets are made by teams of petrochemical workers who prowl the plant checking on the machinery they operate at a distance from computer screens.</p>
<p>The plastic pellets are bought by millions of small and medium-sized flip-flop factories throughout the world in production clusters where labour is cheap – places like Vietnam and various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Rural migrants still make them in southeast China, in small factories in industrial villages that sprout up on farmland. Plastic waste is heaped around the countryside like small colourful mountains of acid pink and blue. As China crept up the value chain, so production moved to other places and shaped the lives of other workers who live in equally precarious ways.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226683/original/file-20180709-122265-1obnaas.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flip-flop waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Michael Tan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Flip-flops in use</h2>
<p>Flip-flops’ biggest markets are in low income countries. Ethiopia, a landlocked state in East Africa, is the one of the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Flip_Flop.html?id=L9V8ngEACAAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y">biggest consumers</a> of cheap flip-flops. Here, I followed the containers of flip-flops from the Somaliland coast and across the Ethiopian border to discover that many of the flip-flop routes are designed to evade import duties. </p>
<p>A shifting matrix of highly skilled smugglers move them at great personal risk. As they arrive in the Mercato, Addis Ababa’s vast central market, smuggled and officially imported flip-flops are indistinguishable, except for their price: the smuggled ones are cheaper and appeal to a poor population that lives carefully on slender resources.</p>
<p>The flip-flop story ends, or so I thought, on a landfill site called Koshe on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Here I spoke to some of the 200 “scratchers”, as they call themselves, who pick up waste materials like metal, wood and plastic that can be sold to recycling plants. The site is visually spectacular – vast and piled with rotting debris in muted colours: its scratchers in the same murky colours melting into the landscape. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226682/original/file-20180709-122268-bwezis.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Koshe landfill site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Caroline Knowles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As trucks arrive from different parts of the city and discharge their loads, there is an intense struggle between the scratchers to grab the best bits. Scratchers read the geographies of the city from the neighbourhoods producing the garbage: Bole with its upscale malls produces some of the best waste and the fiercest struggles. Often unrecyclable, plastic flip-flops will lie in the garbage for more than a hundred years before they decompose.</p>
<p>This flip-flop trail pieces together an unfamiliar picture of globalisation as an ad hoc mosaic of shifting connections between lives and ways of getting by, rather than the smooth operation of global commodity chains we have been led to believe in. Connecting smugglers, disposable workers, garbage pickers and the poorest of consumers, this is one of globalisation’s darker stories. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226686/original/file-20180709-122256-mkd7b3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map of the flip-flop trail.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Caroline Knowles</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A bleak postscript</h2>
<p>But as I later discovered, the trail does not end here. Garbage is not just inert discarded material, but an active agent in making the future.</p>
<p>Things became darker than I could have imagined last year when Koshe, the landfill site outside of Addis, collapsed, killing <a href="https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/index.php/content/landfill-disaster-exposes-gross-negligence">more than 113 people</a> and injuring many more. The causes of the collapse are still to be determined. The site had been closed in 2016 to make way for larger, privately run recycling centres, but was reopened briefly at the time of the disaster due to unrest about compensation and the impact on farming around the new centres.</p>
<p>This situation is a part a bigger story. The city of Addis is growing and absorbing farmland as it grows. The city master plan, which has been more aggressively implemented from the end of 2015, is disastrous for people who share the same precarious circumstances as the scratchers. Their informal settlements and subsistence farming is on land which is being sold to developers building upscale housing. As the city expands, once marginal land becomes valuable.</p>
<p>Ethiopia has one of the world’s fasted growing economies, <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview">estimated</a> to be expanding at between 7% and 10% a year since the turn of the millennium. And yet, <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview">experts report</a> that this has not lowered levels of poverty. 33.5% of Ethiopians still live in extreme poverty. The government selling farmland to developers for private profit removes the precarious opportunities on which the poor subsist. Luxury housing for wealthy Ethiopians comes at a cost born by the poor.</p>
<p>Tracing a piece of Chinese plastic supplying a first step into the world of shoes for the poor led me to a landscape of impoverishment and displacement. So treat your beach flip-flops with respect. There is more to them than first appears.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Knowles received funding from the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust.</span></em></p>
Connecting smugglers, disposable workers, garbage pickers and the poorest of consumers, the flip-flop trail is one of globalisation’s darker stories.
Caroline Knowles, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/85989
2017-11-06T19:22:35Z
2017-11-06T19:22:35Z
Sustainable shopping: how to rock white sneakers without eco-guilt
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192536/original/file-20171030-18725-adlz70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly everyone owns a pair of white sneakers. But what are the different materials required to make a sneaker?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/idhren/14197620292">Maria Morri/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Shopping can be confusing at the best of times, and trying to find environmentally friendly options makes it even more difficult. Welcome to our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/sustainable-shopping-38407">Sustainable Shopping</a> series, in which we ask experts to provide easy eco-friendly guides to purchases big and small.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>White sneakers look great with nearly everything on nearly everybody, so it’s no surprise they’re having a fashion moment. Adidas sold <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/adidas-hits-marketing-gold-with-stan-smith-shoes">eight million pairs</a> of their iconic Stan Smiths in 2015 (and that doesn’t include the lookalikes).</p>
<p>Nearly <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6764-shopping-for-mens-sports-shoes-201604192346">800,000 Australians</a> buy a pair of sporting shoes in any four-week period. This amounts to a staggering <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6764-shopping-for-mens-sports-shoes-201604192346">10.4 million pairs sold every year</a>. Globally, Nike sells <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/nike-business-how-many-sneakers-per-second">25 pairs of sneakers every second</a>.</p>
<p>But have you ever considered the environmental impact of your favourite sneakers? From materials to manufacturing, they have a hidden cost – but it is possible to find shoes that don’t cost the Earth. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/show-me-the-sole-the-exhilarating-sight-of-sneakers-on-show-77709">'Show me the sole': the exhilarating sight of sneakers on show</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A pair of runners produces 13kg of CO₂</h2>
<p>While little research has been done on the environmental impact of fashion, one study has found that the production of a pair of running shoes emits <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2013/footwear-carbon-footprint-0522">13kg of carbon dioxide</a>. The production of the materials involved, including <a href="http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/218968/218968.pdf">leather, nylon, synthetic rubber, plastic and viscose</a>, also takes an environmental toll.</p>
<p>Sneakers have a high carbon footprint as, unlike other types of shoes, they typically have many distinct parts. This involves steps like injection molding, foaming, heating, cutting and sewing.</p>
<p>Where the shoes are made is also a factor. Overwhelmingly, the world’s sneakers come from China: in 2016 they represented 76.8% of the the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/227256/leading-10-global-footwear-producers-by-country/">global footwear manufacturing market</a>. China’s factories are <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.COAL.ZS?locations=CN-BR-ID-VN&view=map">largely reliant on fossil fuels</a>, increasing their environmental impact. </p>
<h2>Making a shoe</h2>
<p>So let’s give your sneakers a quick look. The story behind the primary materials of leather, synthetic leather and rubber have a greater environmental cost than you think.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192561/original/file-20171031-18735-16roxon.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The different materials required to produce a sneaker.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stan_Smith_white_and_green.png">Raizin/The Conversation/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Leather</strong></p>
<p>Leather tanning as an industry is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.05.086">environmentally costly</a>. Facilities need large amounts of water for treatment, and generate significant amounts of solid and liquid waste, which impacts <a href="http://wst.iwaponline.com/content/28/2/97">soil and water health</a>. </p>
<p>It’s also costly to human health, using <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00039896.1979.10667364">toxic chemicals</a> and heavy metals like chromium that have been <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01202722?LI=true">linked to cancer</a> in leather workers. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191989/original/file-20171026-28033-11sb4jg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leather tanning in India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://labourbehindthelabel.org/a-tough-story-of-leather/">Labour Behind the Label</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, the majority of leather is cowhide, which has a large environmental impact. The beef industry is the <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/125012/meta">largest driver of deforestation globally</a>. It is responsible for <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/">65% of greenhouse gas emissions</a> from livestock.</p>
<p><em><strong>As an alternative:</strong></em> Look for chrome-free leather, vegetable tanned leather or leather alternatives like <a href="http://www.ananas-anam.com/pinatex/">Piñatex</a>, which is made from pineapple leaves.</p>
<p><strong>Synthetic leather</strong></p>
<p>Synthetic leather, which is used in the liner of most sneakers (as well as vegan footwear) may be more eco-friendly than leather, but it’s still not perfect. It’s typically made from plastics like <a href="http://www.vocativ.com/news/281599/vegan-leather-isnt-as-ethical-as-you-think/">polyurethane and PVC</a>, which contain their own harmful chemical ingredients. And unlike leather, it’s not biodegradable.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191991/original/file-20171026-28045-381cqd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sri Lanka natural rubber plantation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka-Rubber_plantation_(5).JPG">Ji-Elle/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><strong>As an alternative:</strong></em> Look for vegetable tanned leather, Piñatex, recycled PET or textiles like hemp, jute, wool, or organic cotton.</p>
<p><strong>Rubber</strong></p>
<p>Most sneakers use synthetic rubber in the soles. They are made from <a href="https://w3.siemens.com/mcms/sensor-systems/CaseStudies/CS_Butyl_Rubber_2013-01_en_Web.pdf">petroleum byproducts</a> and are treated with chemical compounds. Like other synthetic materials, manufacturing rubber uses energy and water and creates waste. Chemicals can also leach from the shoe as the sole wears down. </p>
<p><em><strong>As an alternative:</strong></em> Look for natural or wild rubber, which can be cultivated to aid against deforestation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-for-eco-friendly-jeans-stop-washing-them-so-often-75781">Sustainable shopping: for eco-friendly jeans, stop washing them so often</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Sustainable alternatives</h2>
<p>Lucky for us, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to sustainable alternatives to everyone’s favourite casual sneaker. You can check your favourite brands against independent NGOs like <a href="https://projectjust.com/"> Project JUST</a>, the <a href="http://www.bettershoes.org/home/design-process">Better Shoes Foundation</a> or <a href="https://goodonyou.eco/app/">Good On You</a>, or try the eco-friendly brands below (their claims are largely self-reported, so it’s a good idea to look up their ratings as well). </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192545/original/file-20171031-18738-13p3jbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Classic green and white made of recycled cotton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Veja</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.veja-store.com/en/">Veja</a></strong></p>
<p>The ethical sneaker preferred by fashionistas. They’re made with completely sustainable materials including a range of vegetable tanned leathers, organic and Fairtrade cotton, recycled plastic, wild rubber, jute and hemp. They are also ethically produced in their Brazilian factory.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192547/original/file-20171031-18738-1kkkfaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">White sneakers with chrome-free leather and eco microfibre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pozu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://po-zu.com/">Po Zu</a></strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191992/original/file-20171026-28039-1sioieu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Opale, sneakers made of recycled rubber and plastic bottles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">FYE</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Made in a toxic-free, ethical factory in Portugal using naturally renewable and sustainably harvested materials. No toxic dyes are used on the products, which are primarily made of Piñatex, organic cotton, wool, coir (a mix of coconut husk and natural latex), cork, chrome-free leather and natural rubber.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.foryourearthshoes.com.au">For Your Earth</a></strong></p>
<p>Vegan sneakers using recycled plastic bottles for the uppers. The company goes the extra mile by using organic cotton laces and recycled rubber soles, and plants one tree for every pair of shoes sold.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192549/original/file-20171031-18689-q9awld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lace-up sneakers with Piñatex.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NAE</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.nae-vegan.com">Nae</a></strong></p>
<p>This ethical footwear company makes great use of cork, Piñatex, recycled PET and paperboard. It also uses a carbon-neutral manufacturing system to create its vegan sneakers.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191993/original/file-20171026-28036-19atkbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s own organic fairtrade lowcuts white.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Etiko</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="http://etiko.com.au">Etiko</a></strong></p>
<p>This small, family-owned Australian business has been awarded a slew of sustainability accolades because of its ethical and sustainability commitments. Made of natural rubber, organic and Fairtrade cotton (including the laces) and non-toxic dyes (though more of the Converse Chucks styling than Stan Smiths, still a classic look!).</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191994/original/file-20171026-28079-12806o4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kota, high tops with tire soles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Indosole</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://indosole.com">Indosole</a></strong></p>
<p>The soles of these vegan sneakers are made from recycled tires. The shoes’ uppers are made of organic cotton canvas, banana leaves and grass. All shoes are handmade, avoiding manufacturing emissions.</p>
<h2>Most importantly, avoid fast fashion</h2>
<p>The best way to reduce the environmental cost of your sneakers is to hang onto them for as long as you can (fortunately, white sneakers are a classic look). </p>
<p>The “fast fashion” business model means garments and accessories are <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-a-true-war-on-waste-the-fashion-industry-must-spend-more-on-research-78673">increasingly ending up in landfills</a>. You can <a href="https://www.mrporter.com/journal/how-to/how-to-keep-your-sneakers-clean/418">care for your shoes</a> by gently washing them and polishing them until they are no longer wearable. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-a-true-war-on-waste-the-fashion-industry-must-spend-more-on-research-78673">For a true war on waste, the fashion industry must spend more on research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Have some good quality sneakers you just aren’t wearing? Take them to your <a href="http://opshop.org/">nearest op shop</a> or check out <a href="http://www.shoesforplanetearth.com/shoe-collectors/">Shoes for Planet Earth</a> to make a donation.</p>
<p>Have some really worn sneakers? Nike recycles any sneakers with their <a href="https://en-gb-help.nike.com/app/answer/article/recycle-shoes/a_id/60721/country/au">Reuse-A-Shoe</a> program (not just their own brand) and turns them into Nike Grind, a material used to create courts, tracks, playgrounds and fields. All US-based stores accept worn sneakers; this program is not available in Australia, but if you’re feeling keen, you can mail them <a href="http://help-en-us.nike.com/app/answer/article/reuseashoe-faq/a_id/38356/p/3897">to this address</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Heinze is affiliated with sustainable fashion advocacy groups Clean Cut and Fashion Revolution through voluntary roles. </span></em></p>
Iconic Stan Smiths can be styled with almost anything, but most white sneakers are costly to the environment. Lucky for us, there are many sustainable alternatives that are just as cool.
Lisa Heinze, PhD candidate Sustainability, Fashion & Everyday Life, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/73788
2017-03-03T10:30:53Z
2017-03-03T10:30:53Z
Clarks Shoes feels the pinch as UK high street an increasingly uncomfortable fit for some retailers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158711/original/image-20170228-29924-7k84vt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">trialstribulationsofabrummiemummy.co.uk</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many years, Clarks Shoes has been a mainstay of the British high street. Its position has long been supported by a reputation for robust, well-made shoes and the occasional iconic style: the desert boot was launched in 1950. Innovation too, was part of its brand strength, with technical developments in shoe manufacture and marketing initiatives. </p>
<p>However, the British shoe industry experienced a <a href="https://www.tutor2u.net/_legacy/assets/cafe/12_03_shoes_decline.pdf">rapid decline in manufacturing</a> from the 1980s and, at a time of booming retail expansion, focused more on building branded store portfolios. Now retail has also become problematic, leaving Clarks, like many other retailers, with some serious thinking to do about its current store portfolios.</p>
<p>Following a <a href="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3636857/Sole-searching-Clarks-profits-slump-63m-amid-tough-competition-demanding-customers.html">65% fall in profits</a>, Clarks has announced that it will comb its <a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/news/clarks-launches-review-of-store-portfolio/7018732.article">portfolio of high street shops</a> to identify savings in its 550-store retail empire. </p>
<p>In part, the company’s problems lie in changing patterns of consumption and shopping journeys. A <a href="https://home.kpmg.com/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2017/02/brc-kpmg-retail-sales-monitor-january-2017.html">trend towards online shopping</a> has gained momentum in recent years – and fashion retailing in particular has felt the impact of changing shopping habits as consumers find online ordering, delivery (and returns) increasingly easy.</p>
<p>Shoe retailing itself has changed as shoes are now regularly sold in multiple clothing retailers, which places more pressure on specialist shoe shops. Moreover, <a href="http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/retail-press-centre/fashionistas-cause-sales-of-sportswear-to-sprint-uk-sports-goods-sales-estimated-to-surpass-7-billion-in-2016">consumer preference for athletic and sports shoes</a>, and “athleisure” generally, continues to erode the market for more traditional styles. Brands such as Nike and Adidas have a strong global presence, supported by powerful endorsement and market communications strategies that are difficult to replicate. By contrast, traditional men’s shoe brands, such as Church and Barkers’ shoes, which are still made in Northamptonshire, can command higher prices through their quality, worksmanship and niche market positioning. </p>
<p>However, Clarks occupies a more mainstream position, competing with the likes of <a href="http://www.office.co.uk/">Office</a> and <a href="http://www.dunelondon.com/about-dune/">Dune</a>, which leaves it open to competition for the middle market spend. The brand <a href="http://www.clarks.co.uk/information/about-us">still claims to be a leader in terms of trust</a> and reliability, and its strengths in childrens’ fitted shoes – a particularly British concern – have contributed to its resilience.</p>
<h2>Retail recession</h2>
<p>Out on the high street, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/430259ca-9a00-11e6-b8c6-568a43813464">as sales decline</a>, other familiar problems emerge with costs of retailing. Some of these are store-based, others relate to the product. Employee costs are constrained by minimum wages, pension contributions and other regulatory requirements. Rental agreements may have been more negotiable in recent years – there was a time when 25-year <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-12-2015-0085">upward only rent reviews</a> for retailers were the norm – but they continue to have a significant effect on the viability of a store. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158921/original/image-20170301-5497-jw25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The UK high street: is a pleasant shopping experience enough then rents and rates are so high?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IR Stone/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Impending <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39098801">business rate increases</a> will add further, potentially large, increases to store costs. And, if Clarks are locked into expensive rental deals – with higher rates in the pipeline – while customer footfall is declining, it’s time to closely review each store’s performance.</p>
<p>A further challenge lies with the cost of the shoes themselves. Clarks <a href="https://ukmade.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/english-shoes-ten-brands-still-made-in-britain/">imports the vast majority of its shoes</a> and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/23/british-pound-given-boost-by-projected-remain-win-in-eu-referendum">devaluation of the pound by some 20%</a> following the Brexit referendum will contribute to pressure on profit margins and prices. In a shoe shop there are few valuable “extras” to sell to customers, so the possibilities for additional sales are limited.</p>
<h2>Squeezed middle</h2>
<p>But this perfect storm of cost pressures, price resistance and increasing online competition is not limited to shoe retailing and Clarks in particular. So does the company have some particular problem? It does seem that the company is part of the “squeezed middle” of familiar high street multiple retailers – but the demographics of an ageing population should contribute to the demand for well-fitting, comfortable shoes. </p>
<p>Having said that, compromises are often made: comfort can often be found in a range of lightweight trainers, in more or less sporty styles, canvas and moulded casual shoes – the clunky but practical and distinctive Crocs were a success story a few years ago. Comfort can still sell as well, as evidenced by <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ugg-founder-traits-successful-entrepreneurs-2014-11?r=US&IR=T">Ugg boot sales</a> – where a good marketing position, press comment and photo exposure propelled a fairly shapeless sheepskin boot into the limelight.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158924/original/image-20170301-5514-xbbh62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Won’t you take me to … Niketown?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Josh Hallett</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clarks shops themselves reflect the values of the brand without providing particularly memorable experiences – difficult in a shoe shop compared to the brand experience of a Niketown store. What are needed are locations with safe and dependable consumer markets, sites that maximise customer traffic, offer cross or omnichannel – communication and distribution through both stores and online channels – as well as sales and marketing opportunities and, above all, manageable costs. </p>
<p>The ensuing shake-out of stores that don’t meet profitable trading criteria points to a different – and maybe less attractive – high street or shopping centre.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Kent does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The footwear retailer, once a staple of the UK high street, is being forced by falling sales to consider its options.
Anthony Kent, Professor of Fashion Marketing, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/68498
2016-11-22T01:51:50Z
2016-11-22T01:51:50Z
Will we soon be growing our own vegan leather at home?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146865/original/image-20161121-4547-459c7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A floral wreath made from vegan leather designed by Sofia Moreno-Marcos and York Hon John Liang in 2014.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">QUT media</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Conventional leather is one of fashion’s most ubiquitous materials – but it is fraught with ethical and environmental issues. We have been growing vegan leather from kombucha tea since 2014 – and the results are promising.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146149/original/image-20161116-31142-19agznj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A jar of kombucha tea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">QUT media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kombucha is a ferment made by adding a mixed symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, (known as SCOBY) to sweetened tea. The bacteria acquire nutrients from the yeast, and grow a protective mass of cellulose monofibres, called a pellicle.</p>
<p>The pellicle (also called the mother) floats on the surface of the liquid, and will take the shape of its container. After a few weeks, when it has grown to a thickness of about 10mm, it can be harvested, washed (by hand or machine), oiled and air dried. </p>
<p>The material which results is a flexible, leathery sheet that can be cut, stitched, glued or woven. The pellicle dyes readily while still wet, and takes the shape of whatever supports it as it dries. Complex shapes can be formed by cutting the sheet into strips, and layering them over a form. As they dry, the wet strips fuse into a continuous sheet.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146859/original/image-20161121-4564-1n45g6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The wet kombucha.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">QUT media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The technology of growing and using kombucha cellulose as vegan leather has been explored over the past few years through a collaboration between the Fashion department, Queensland University of Technology and scientists from The Edge, State Library of Queensland. They have trialled methods for preparation, treatment and manufacture of garments, shoes, jewellery and bags.</p>
<p>Just like animal based leathers, our leather-like items such as shoes and bags require reinforcing and finishing to increase durability. Shoe styles vary from casual slip-ons to more conceptual designs with handmade wooden heels and soles.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146862/original/image-20161121-4531-r09a09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kombucha shoe design, Chinoiserie, by Alex Parker-Wilkin, Maritha Appel and Emma Tothill, 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alice Payne</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We have experimented with waxing the vegan leather to increase water resistance, laminating it to increase overall strength and wearability, and painting it with acrylics to dramatically change its appearance and improve longevity. </p>
<p>As a naturally sustainable material, kombucha leather has many advantages. Unlike the patternmaking process for traditional leather, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/fashion/15waste.html">which typically wastes 15% to 20% in the cutting</a> due to garment pattern shapes, kombucha leather can be grown with zero waste, in tubs shaped as garment pattern pieces.</p>
<h2>Can it work on a large scale?</h2>
<p>But can kombucha be commercialized at a scale to be a viable vegan alternative to leather? There are two main barriers to overcome: the sweet but pungent aroma (familiar to any home brewer) and water absorption. </p>
<p>Like animal-based tanned leathers, kombucha leather is not waterproof. Rubbing in natural essential oils or beeswax as a sealant can address both scent and water resistance, although traces of the smell will remain.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146868/original/image-20161121-4560-583d8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kombucha growing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">QUT media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These simple treatments make the material showerproof, but like leather, more work is required to make it truly impervious. Without a sealant, the kombucha could become sticky if worn in the rain. Full water resistance can be achieved if using acrylic or oil based sealers, but then the material is no longer safely biodegradable.</p>
<p>However, commercialization in the mass-market sense is only one avenue to explore.
Like many other potentially disruptive technologies, production of kombucha is decentralised, democratised and personal. It gives people the means to make their own leather products on a small-scale.</p>
<p>Knowledge could be shared and grown across wide networks using available media, as parallel communities of tinkerers and makers connect. Free and open exchange of knowledge is a hallmark of these communities. Our project is only one of many such projects mushrooming globally – from trailblazer <a href="http://www.biofabricate.co/">Suzanne Lee</a> with her bio-couture jackets, to <a href="http://www.kombuchacouture.com/">Sacha Laurin</a> with her runway creations in California, to the <a href="http://scobytec.tumblr.com/">ScobyTec</a> start-up in Germany with prototype biker jackets incorporating wearable technology.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146866/original/image-20161121-4535-1oyqxn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Earthwalker shoe by Paige Philogene, Thomas Rogers and Max Donker.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alice Payne</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Looking to the future, kombucha cellulose may play a role as a mass-market alternative to leather. From the beginning of our project, sustainability and waste minimisation have been a priority. So treatments using artificial agents have been largely avoided. </p>
<p>The environmental ills of clothing production (waste generation, chemical toxicity, energy intensity) are rightly receiving increasing attention, and the search for sustainable materials is ramping up.</p>
<p>The world’s largest apparel brands are developing innovations in circular production methods, in which materials can be closed loop recycled, formed from pre-or post-consumer waste, or safely biodegraded at end-of-life – see <a href="http://www.ecouterre.com/puma-unveils-incycle-line-of-cradle-to-cradle-certified-apparel-footwear/puma-incycle-cradle-to-cradle-1/">PUMA’s cradle to cradle sneakers</a> or <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/nike-recycled-shoes_us_5733436fe4b0bc9cb048b398">Nike’s utilization of waste</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, developing biotextiles has become fashionable, with novel biodegradable materials developed from waste pineapple leaf fibres (<a href="http://www.ananas-anam.com/pinatex/">Piñatex™</a>) and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2015/feb/17/grow-compost-wedding-dress-homegrown-fashion">fungi</a>, and <a href="https://tedxinnovations.ted.com/2015/09/14/spotlight-tedx-talk-the-new-fashion-clothes-colored-by-algae/">textile dyes from algae</a> garnering “likes” and shares on social media. </p>
<p>For now, kombucha growing provides local, individual makers with sustainable materials – and allows them to tap into the knowledge of a networked global community. This suggests a parallel fashion future in which makers grow their own garments, sharing the SCOBY locally, but ideas and instructions globally.</p>
<p><a href="http://edgeqld.org.au/kombucha/">Download your instructions from here</a> and try growing your own today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68498/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Conventional leather is fraught with ethical and environmental issues. But leather grown from fermented kombucha tea offers consumers a glimpse of a DIY, sustainable future.
Alice Payne, Lecturer in Fashion, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland University of Technology
Dean Brough, Senior Fashion Studio Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology
Peter Musk, Science Catalyst at The Edge, State Library of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/44314
2015-09-04T04:24:00Z
2015-09-04T04:24:00Z
Expensive running shoes don’t prevent injuries, but comfortable ones might
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92224/original/image-20150818-12389-1xvcora.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many runners opt for expensive footwear - but are they worth it?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotografgruppen/4017135689/">Fotografgruppen Fotografgruppen/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever sustained an injury from running, you’re not alone; about half of all adults who run regularly will get injured <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/8/469.long">each year</a>. And if that’s not enough to put you off, having a history of previous injuries is one of the strongest risk factors for <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/8/469.long">getting injured again</a>. </p>
<p>So it’s no surprise that avoiding injuries is a priority for runners. </p>
<p>One third of runners are so concerned about this, in fact, that they’ll <a href="http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2012/08000/Primitive_Running___A_Survey_Analysis_of_Runners_.2.aspx">ditch their plain old running shoes</a> for fancier footwear they feel is safer and will improve their performance. But do the promises made by global footwear companies about their expensive running shoes stack up? </p>
<h2>The evidence</h2>
<p>The first thing we need to address is whether the modern running shoe’s extra safety features, such as increased stability or extra cushioning, are protecting people from injury. Not very much, according to <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/43/3/159.short">a provocative 2009 review</a> that highlighted a lack of research testing exactly this. </p>
<p>More evidence has emerged since, but we’re still none the wiser. </p>
<p>One study that randomly allocated 81 female runners to shoes with different levels of stability based on their foot posture (pronated, neutral, supinated) found <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2010/06/26/bjsm.2009.069849.short">no difference</a> in injury rates during a 13-week training program. Another, which randomly allocated hard or soft-soled shoes to 247 runners, also found <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/09/16/bjsports-2013-092613.short?rss=1">no difference</a> in injury rates over a five-month period.</p>
<p>But despite the current state of research literature indicating no clear benefits of running shoes with extra safety features, we’re bombarded by claims from global footwear companies about the advantages of their expensive products. </p>
<p>When we dissect the content of the claims made by these manufacturers, we see a recurrence of vague terms, teetering dangerously between the medical and sportswear industries. </p>
<p>Words conjuring imagery of sport and performance such as “zoom”, “fast”, “elite” and “launch pad” are littered among others suggesting direct benefits from their shoes, such as “better” and “safer”. Terms once synonymous with expensive cars are also adopted by global footwear companies, who claim their products offer the most “<a href="http://www.asics.com.au/gel-nimbus">fluid</a>”, “<a href="http://www.mizunousa.com/Running/Products/WAVE-RIDER-18-MENS">smooth</a>” or “<a href="http://www.brooksrunning.com/en_us/Transcend.html">plush</a>” experience for runners. </p>
<h2>Problematic claims</h2>
<p>The problem is compounded by running footwear companies using “surrogate outcomes” to support claims that their newest technology <em>may</em> reduce risk of a running-related injury. But what’s a “<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4225188&fileId=S0266462300009594">surrogate outcome</a>”? </p>
<p>If we want to test whether a new model of footwear, or piece of footwear technology, actually protects against injury, we’d measure – in a controlled study – how many people get injured wearing (and not wearing) the product. </p>
<p>But tracking who does and doesn’t get injured over an extended period is a time-consuming and expensive exercise. To circumvent inconvenience and cost, we could instead measure what effect the new footwear has on outcomes that <em>may</em> relate to increasing risk of injury.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/92223/original/image-20150818-12372-if6efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There’s no clear evidence to suggest expensive running shoes prevent injury.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/22226011@N02/8080159041/">nprpdx/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We may, for instance, measure how much they reduce your foot from rolling in (pronating) or soften your impact with the ground (ground reaction forces), as a “surrogate” for measuring injury. But these aren’t strong surrogates because neither foot pronation nor high ground reaction forces are strong <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2015/07/28/bjsports-2015-095054.short?rss=1">risk factors</a> for running-related injuries. </p>
<p>The reason for measuring surrogate outcomes in place of actual ones then, is that they’re cheaper, more convenient and provide indirect support for marketing claims about new footwear products. </p>
<h2>Inviting controversy</h2>
<p>In the search to gain advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace, footwear companies are forever pushing the boundaries with their claims. And when they slip up, the results can be disastrous. </p>
<p>In 2012, <a href="http://www.universalhub.com/files/vibram-complaint.pdf">a class-action lawsuit</a> was made against Vibram USA, the company that makes the FiveFingers running shoes, the glove-like footwear at the epicentre of the “natural” or “barefoot” running phenomenon. </p>
<p>The case was based on unsupported and deceptive claims of “strengthened foot and leg muscles”, “reduced risk of injury” and improved “balance and agility” and “spinal posture” from wearing the shoes. Vibram USA settled, offering refunds to customers and discontinuing the use of these claims about its footwear. </p>
<p>Similarly, promises of more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ZaAkYEES8">toned buttocks</a> from walking in Reebok’s EasyTone shoes were found to be deceptive and <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2011/09/reebok-pay-25-million-customer-refunds-settle-ftc-charges">misleading</a> by the US Federal Trade Commission. </p>
<p>Reebok was required to pay US$25 million in customer refunds and banned from making unsubstantiated health and fitness claims relating to its “toning” footwear.</p>
<h2>The solution</h2>
<p>Selecting running shoes based on the purported benefits of certain foot protective features, such as “cushioning” and “motion control”, offers no protection against running-related injuries. In fact, we may have reached a point where running shoes are being over-engineered in order to meet market trends, rather than being designed to make running safer. </p>
<p>But where does that leave people faced with the task of deciding the right shoe for them? Interestingly, the solution may lie in not what you think the shoes may do for you, but how comfortable they feel.</p>
<p>In the absence of strong evidence that modern running shoe features reduce injury rates, <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2015/07/28/bjsports-2015-095054.full.pdf+html">comfort</a> may be more important than other factors, such as reduced foot pronation and shoe cushioning. </p>
<p>Although footwear comfort is <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/20216463">difficult to define and quantify</a>, most people are able to sense whether the shoes they’re trying on are comfortable or not. Support, fit and foot alignment are among factors that influence feeling comfortable in a pair of shoes. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Annegret_Muendermann2/publication/10658602_Relationship_between_footwear_comfort_of_shoe_inserts_and_anthropometric_and_sensory_factors/links/004635182b4c8cf136000000.pdf">Comfortable running shoes</a> are associated with lower frequency of injuries than uncomfortable shoes. This suggests your body may be the best judge of footwear that’s ideal for you. </p>
<p>The next time you feel bamboozled by the cornucopia of gels, foams and rubbers in running shoes, arm yourself with the knowledge that comfort is one of the best determinants of whether a pair of shoes is right for you. And that may work best for preventing injuries, your wallet and your peace of mind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44314/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Arnold has received research funding from Sports Medicine Australia.</span></em></p>
Since avoiding injuries is a priority for runners, many end up buying expensive footwear for their purported safety features. But do the promises made by global footwear companies stack up?
John Arnold, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/42782
2015-06-09T05:15:06Z
2015-06-09T05:15:06Z
The history of shoes has been frivolous, ridiculous and extreme
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84221/original/image-20150608-8704-14ir52q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Evening shoe, beaded silk and leather, Roger Vivier (1907–98) for Christian Dior. 1958-60.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Victoria and Albert Museum, London</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Shoes long ago eclipsed their primary function – to protect feet. For thousands of years shoes have elicited extremes of both pain and pleasure. It is this long and varied history of shoes that the V&A’s forthcoming <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/shoes-pleasure-and-pain/about-the-exhibition/">exhibition</a> showcases, spanning more than 2,000 years. The oldest pair on show date back to Ancient Egypt, while more contemporary designs show that advancements in technology and 3D printing have pushed the bounds of what is technically possible to achieve with footwear. </p>
<p>As an object the shoe has transformed from its functional origins to become wearable art. Some of the more extreme shoes featured in this exhibition even demand questions as to their feasibility to be worn. More contemporary exhibits include <a href="http://www.dezeen.com/2013/07/03/nova-shoe-by-zaha-hadid-for-united-nude/">Zaha Hadid’s Nova shoes</a>, constructed with a 16.5cm heel. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84210/original/image-20150608-8725-7r8n9d.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">NOVA. Zaha Hadid for United Nude.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Image courtesy of United Nude</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vertiginous to an extreme, the towering heights of heels are not, however, a modern-day phenomenon.</p>
<h2>Dizzy heights</h2>
<p>Renaissance Italy provides one of the most striking instances of the shoe’s extreme history. Venetian women of status popularised the wearing of a style called the <a href="http://metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chop/hd_chop.htm">chopine</a>. These platform shoes were often crafted from wood or cork. And 15th-century Venetian gentlemen were very keen for their wives to wear these extremely high shoes, according to <a href="http://mafashion.ryerson.ca/showcase/research-and-practice/elizabeth-semmelhack-curation-bata-shoe-museum">Elizabeth Semmelhack</a>, senior curator at <a href="http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/">The Bata Shoe Museum</a>. This was because of the way it hindered their mobility – and therefore, the idea goes, they would be less likely to run off with other men. Indeed, very often these women would have to be accompanied by attendants to ensure that they didn’t topple over. Chopines would be an average of around five and a half inches but their height was rumoured to have reached up to 20 inches.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84207/original/image-20150608-8719-jjmxzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chopines, Punched kid leather over carved pine, Venice, Italy, c. 1600s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Victoria and Albert Museum, London</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Not only did the elevation project the wearer’s social standing, but the height served to protect them from the dirty streets of Venice. As elevations became more extreme, Venetian sumptuary laws were even brought in to address the ridiculous nature of these shoes. In 1430 the Venetian Major Council forbade the wearing of chopines that were more than three and a half inches in height. Chopines were by this point condemned as an insult to God, perilous to the wearer’s souls as well as their bodies.</p>
<p>Although the chopine was highly gendered and extreme shoes were more usually associated with women, men were, historically, also avid heel wearers, as Rebecca Shawcross reveals in her <a href="http://www.pbglifestyle.com/product-reviews/shoes-an-illustrated-history-by-rebecca-shawcross/">historical overview of shoes</a>. This was epitomised perfectly by France’s King Louis XIV, whose red-heeled shoes became an emblem of political allegiance: aristocrats wore red heels to demonstrate their allegiance to the King. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=853&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84215/original/image-20150608-8704-h7g0nd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1071&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Louis XIV of France, Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Barbaric beauty</h2>
<p>Fast forward a few hundred years and the somewhat barbaric nature of the shoe was far from forgotten. In 1937 Magritte painted <a href="http://www.abcgallery.com/M/magritte/magritte22.html">The Red Model</a>, which exemplified the rather unnatural relationship between shoes and the foot. The central focus of the painting is a pair of worn leather boots which merge into the image of human feet.</p>
<p>This torturous side of shoes comes to the fore in the exhibition by the presence of lotus shoes and the historic practice of foot binding. Foot binding, once the symbol of beauty and social standing, was outlawed in China in 1911. The traditional and extreme custom of binding and the wearing of lotus shoes was culturally meaningful and ensured that women were able to <a href="http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/12/unraveling-a-brutal-custom/">find suitable husbands</a>. Traditionally feet were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/13/photographs-last-chinese-footbinders_n_5489925.html">bound from a young age</a>, stunting growth as the small foot and subsequent impeded mobility was a sign of great beauty. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84217/original/image-20150608-8732-15xq8ko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chinese lotus shoes for bound feet, 1911, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foot_binding_shoes_1.jpg">Daniel Schwen</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The introduction of fetish shoes in the late 19th century brought another dimension to the painful but pleasurable experience of shoes. Fetish footwear was defined by exaggerated heel heights: clad in shoes the foot here became a mysterious, yet powerful weapon. </p>
<p>In 1910 for example, soft-core pornography journal <a href="http://www.cyclopaedia.info/wiki/Photo-Bits">Photo Bits</a> published a serial story: Peggy Paget’s Patent Paralysing Pedal Props. These were 18-inch heels. Constrained inside a narrow and very high shoe, the foot exerted a feeling of great pain, counterbalanced by the pleasure of exciting the imagination of both wearer and observer.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84219/original/image-20150608-8677-1k5cn5u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High & Mighty shoot, American Vogue (model: Nadja Auermann), Dolce & Gabbana suit, Summer 1995.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Estate of Helmut Newton / Maconochie Photography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The interest in fetish shoes was supported by a wealth of popular literature at the time that further fuelled footwear’s association with the erotic. These shoes, in a sense, represented the objectification of femininity and later ignited the continuing debate between shoes as metaphors of empowerment or subordination. </p>
<p>These historic examples of shoes may seem extreme and even ridiculous. But they were all designed and worn to reflect a range of different cultural and social meanings. Through the presentation of a long, significant and sometimes exotic history, the V&A shows how shoes – although they might seem frivolous or ridiculous – have come to be understood as serious objects of cultural reference. Today, extreme shoes by designers like <a href="http://eu.christianlouboutin.com/uk_en/">Christian Louboutin</a> are very much part of mainstream culture. Women are still often prepared to endure pain for pleasure.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42782/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Braithwaite does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A walk through some of the more extreme examples of historical shoes.
Naomi Braithwaite, Research Fellow, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/38142
2015-03-06T14:58:06Z
2015-03-06T14:58:06Z
What your shoes say about you (quite a lot, actually)
<p>Paris Fashion Week heralds the finale to what has been a packed calendar of catwalk shows. The designers’ eagerly awaited collections for Autumn/Winter 2015 have been revealed, new trends noted and the commercial wheel for fashion’s next season set in motion once again. As the globe trotting fashion pack jostle for the much coveted front row seats, it won’t be just the clothes they are hotly anticipating, but also the shoes. </p>
<p>Within the commercial sphere of fashion shoes were originally of secondary importance to clothing. But television shows such as <a href="http://www.instyle.com/fashion/shoes-and-city">Sex and the City</a>, launched in 1998, have catapulted the shoe into mainstream culture as an object of desire and sometimes obsession for many women. <a href="http://reports.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen/list/id=679712&type=RCItem?__cc=1#0_1___page_RCItem=0">Marketing studies</a> have shown that spending in the UK alone on shoes has been increasing steadily, with growth in the footwear market now having overtaken that of clothing. </p>
<p>Sales of shoes in the UK in 2014 were estimated to be worth almost <a href="http://reports.mintel.com/display/710802/">£9.4 billion</a>. The investments that London department stores such as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/24/selfridges-shoe-hall">Selfridges</a> and <a href="http://www.harrods.com/shoe-heaven/home">Harrods</a> have made in redesigning and transforming their Ladies’ shoe departments into salons of visual delights and inspirations demonstrates further how important shoes are to fashion. So commercially, it’s evident that shoes are no longer the afterthought to clothing.</p>
<h2>The power of shoes</h2>
<p>Shoes have always held a significant place in popular culture. Fairy tales and stories such as the Wizard of Oz and Cinderella have presented them as objects that hold transformative, magical and sometimes even dark powers. </p>
<p>And putting aside their role as fashion accessories it is clear that shoes have the ability to transform the wearer – physically, aesthetically and emotionally. As a three-dimensional sculptural form the shoe imposes particular postures on the wearer, influencing how they move and physically feel. </p>
<p>In his seminal work <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/29890878/Marcel-Mauss-Techniques-of-the-Body">Techniques of the Body</a>, the French sociologist Marcel Mauss explored how particular styled shoes would influence different types of movement on the body. The high heel, for example, repositions the posture, lengthening the calf muscles, pulling the hips inwards, tightening the bottom muscles and pushing the chest forward. The result is a feminine and disciplined body. In contrast, a flat shoe like a Birkenstock allows the foot to spread and the body to relax. </p>
<p>These contrasting shoe styles create different physical forms for the body which influence in turn how the wearer will feel and present themselves, either consciously or unconsciously, to the outside world. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/do-something-different/201304/what-your-clothes-might-be-saying-about-you">The relationship of clothing to the psychology of individuals</a> has been much studied, but shoes, by the very intimate relationship they hold with the body, are also key to constructing identity and meaning for the wearer.</p>
<h2>What footwear might mean</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656612000608">Research</a> has shown that by examining someone’s shoes, it is possible to guess an enormous amount about the owner’s personal characteristics – by some <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/you-can-judge-90-percent-strangers-personal-characteristics-just-looking-their-shoes-240793">excessive</a> and <a href="http://yalebooksblog.co.uk/2013/02/27/extract-from-shoe-obsession-by-valerie-steele-and-colleen-hill/">headline grabbing</a> estimations up to 90% of an individual’s personality. </p>
<p>The high heel as an object of fascination and obsession takes centre stage in most such discussions of shoes as objects that confer meaning. This is a shoe that continually sways between being interpreted as an object of empowerment and confidence for women and one of subordination, shoes that are selected just to please men. The anthropologist Ann Brydon’s <a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Consuming_Fashion.html?id=TWu1AAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y">study of female academics in America</a> noted their vehement resistance to wearing high heeled shoes in fear of being seen to be frivolous and of inferior intelligence. To assert their academic eruditeness they opted for flat, indiscreet, sensible shoes. </p>
<p>But most women will admit that they buy and wear high heels not for aesthetic reasons, or to please their observers, but simply because of how they make them feel. Wearing such shoes instills confidence and enjoyment, despite perhaps the occasional sensations of pain.</p>
<p>Shoes have been subjected to debates on feminism, fetishism and fashion and through this have become objects that may reveal something about the psychology of individuals. And Paris Fashion Week provides one of the best opportunities to test these theories, so as models strut down the Paris catwalks in their spindly shoes and the audiences mill around in equally eye grabbing footwear, take some time to analyse their choices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Braithwaite does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Studies have shown that your shoe choice may say a lot about you. What better time to test this out than fashion week?
Naomi Braithwaite, Research Fellow, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.