Barefoot shoes and flexibility: why it is so important and how we provide it
Many traditional shoes limit your freedom of movement and therefore the natural function of the foot as it goes through its sequence of movements - partly by creating a form that does not correspond to the natural shape of the foot, and partly due to stiff and rigid upper materials and hard soles. This means that the feet cannot move freely and the toes cannot spread apart and curl up. This is especially the case with many leather shoes, which must be broken in over several days or even weeks before they no longer cause blisters and pressure.
GROUNDIES® are designed to restore natural freedom of movement to your feet - even from the very first day of wear. In theory, you should feel as though you are wearing at most a pair of cosy and elasticated socks, even when you are outdoors. Your feet should be able to spread and stretch with ease. You should also be able to stand on both the balls of your feet and your heels without any restrictions - just to give a few examples. For this reason, with our GROUNDIES®, we have given particular importance to the use of thin, lightweight, and flexible upper materials. As part of this process, we carefully compare the products offered by different manufacturers and only select upper materials that completely meet our requirements. This means that when you buy a pair of GROUNDIES® they sit exactly as they should do. You can tell straight away whether our shoes fit and whether they will remain comfortable over time. There's no need to break them in: you can start walking comfortably, naturally, and healthily right away.
Our high standards in terms of flexibility also apply to the soles - indeed, this is where flexibility is most important: the soles of a barefoot shoe should be as thin as possible. But that's not the only criterion. The material itself is at least just as important. It must be lightweight and flexible, but must also be able to withstand the demands of every day life: the soles must be puncture-proof as well as abrasion-resistant. To ensure that you can travel safely in any weather, slip resistance is another important criterion. Not an easy combination. With our TrueSense® soles, we have managed to master this balancing act. These soles have been developed especially for us in Pirmasens, a traditional centre for artisan shoemaking in Germany. The key is the innovative TPU material, which combines all the advantages of plastic and rubber: it is extremely durable and abrasion-resistant, but still unbelievably flexible.
Try it out: in your GROUNDIES® you can swivel and turn your feet in all directions, as well as being able to stretch out your toes and curl them back towards you. Briefly put: you can enjoy the full range of movement that is usually only possible when you are barefoot or wearing socks.
