Famed Birkenstock Shoes Update
Birki Schuh GmbH was founded in 1993 by Stephan Birkenstock. His General Manager title remains for the Birki’s brand today. His famous cork-latex footbed feature was highlighted from the beginning. So were his anatomically molded footbeds.
The German Birki’s brand offers a large vegan all-age shoe collection that ranges from cork sandals to water-friendly clogs, and lots in between. Those special footbeds are made of cork, ALPRO®-cell or ALPRO®-foam, which are terrific shock absorbing materials.
More specifically, production of the vegan styles are cork, natural rubber and jute. The ALPRO®-foam is primo for wet or dirty settings. It’s non-abrasive and slip preventive with a superlative heat tolerance. The material makes sandals and clogs perfect for swim and sauna environments, plus the garden. The feather-light ALPRO®-cell clogs and sandals are terrific for surfing, sailing or canoeing.
Birki’s stands for comfortable and healthy walking. And there’s a strong company focus on ecological responsibility. This is not new, but the progress report is. For example, only solvent-free adhesives are utilized in the cork collections today. The upper material and sole are innovatively fused directly together by an energy-conservative production method while the foam and cell materials are fused with water-based propellants. Then the shoes are released from their molds by a 100% chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free process.
You probably know that cork is natural, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable, resistant to wear and temperature. Birki´s cork has visible high quality standards. That’s due to the sustainable proper methods taken to harvest cork-oak trees.
Their in-house buckle production is equipped with solar panels on their state-of-the-art building. Solar power is converted into electrical energy and used to heat the water required. The residual heat is used in the drying process of their cork-latex footbeds.
I’m not sure who the design team is at Brik’s, but I hope readers do. Remember there’s a competition going on through the month of May for the Best Sustainable Footwear Designer title. Nominations are welcome, so leave a comment if you’ve not discovered instructions.
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I just discovered your blog and enjoyed reading! I’m always on the lookout for good vegan footwear. My favorite spot lately has been Vegan Chic. Super cute vegan shoes and sandals and they carry name brands that use sustainable materials which I love. Check them out at http://www.veganchic.com
Comfort is essential for shoes. But is it depends on the brand? I think that comfortable shoes are made of good material, that is the secret of the comfort. And, of course, shoes should fit you prefectly.
Where in the world can you *find* these rumored vegan Birks??? I’ve been searching all over the web, and cannot find a single place that carries them smaller than size 35 (except a few of the cheesy plastic variety, but it doesn’t make sense to me to get Birks if they aren’t of the classic style). I have tiny feet, and need nothing bigger than a 34 (possibly even a 33).