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Sharon May remembers...I had 2 pairs and wore them out. This looked great with our bell bottom pants and plaid shirts with ... More »
Posted on 11/13/06
In 1970, the first Earth Day proclamation put a fitting exclamation point on the 1960’s wave of ecological consciousness. In the very same year, a classic of environmentally conscious footwear first touched down on American shores: Anne Kals Minus Heel Shoes, better known by the much trendier handle Earthshoes.
Anne Kals, a yoga instructor in Copenhagen, Denmark, had come up with the design back in 1957. Her ergonomic, orthopedic, “minus heel” shoes featured, as the name implies, a “negative heel.” By lifting the toes above the level of the heel, Kals’s patented design simulated walking in sand, which was supposed to be orthopedically beneficial.
Neither fashionable nor particularly nice-looking, Earthshoes – as the U.S. licensors, Raymond and Eleanor Jacobs, rechristened them – were, however, just the thing for early adopters of health-conscious living. As the movement swept the nation, so did the Earthshoe craze. Along with Birkenstocks, Earthshoes made conquests both inside and outside hippie culture.
In addition to the original lace-up loafers, Earthshoes came in the form of hiking shoes, clogs, and sandals. All were soothing to weary walkers’ feet. By 1976, though, the craze had passed, and the company had to file for bankruptcy. Today, other manufacturers make footwear in the Earthshoe mold, with hipsters avidly seeking out vintage styles.
