The original Earth Shoe negative heel technology was developed by Danish yoga instructor Anne Kalso in 1957. The negative shoe technology positions your toes higher than your heels with an incline of 3.7 degrees. This is supposed to help promote better leg and calf toning, tighter thighs, stronger core muscles, straighter posture and better breathing. The development of this technology led Ann to open a retail store in Copenhagen where she began to sell the Kalso Minus Heel™ shoe in 1968. Early pairs were made in West Germany (about the time Anne opened her first store and before these shoes were brought to America). By 1975, Earth Shoes went on to expand to 135 stores but eventually disappeared due to lawsuits filed against the company (store owners accused the company of not supplying enough inventory to support demand as well as issues regarding store locations). Nearly 30 years later, designer Michel Meynard spent 4 years securing all related rights to the Earth Brand from the individuals formerly associated with Kalso Systemette Inc. Finally, in 2001, Earth launched their Fall line. Today, Earth brand is going strong. They are carried in tons of retailers across the United States and overseas, and even have a line of footwear for those concerned about the environment, certified by the Vegan Society. For more info on the Earth brand check out their website earthfootwear.com and be sure to check out their youtube vid below. A special thank you to earthbeach.com for supplying a lot of the info surrounding this interesting brand. For now check out this throwback 1976 ad below.
