Last time we brought you REMYXX 100% recyclable footwear, this time we bring you ANI. ANI (Founded by Yama Sharifi) stands for As Nature Intended. Their shoes are eco friendly, made of 100% organic canvas, and their packaging is recycled and recyclable. Down with the barefoot movement? Good, cause ANI has you covered. Aside from being eco friendly their premier model is a barefoot shoe.
DeFY. New York recently caught up with Yama to talk more about ANI.
Whattup Yama?! Thanks for sitting down with DeFY.
DeFY: What inspired you to start this brand?
ANI: I’m an entrepreneur and a designer trying to make a difference. I wanted to make the best brand possible, a brand that revolves around the following terms: Barefoot, Eco-Friendly, Vegan, Style, and Philanthropy.
DeFY: Do you have a background in design?
ANI: Yes, spending lots of time with my sketchbook.
DeFY: Who designed your premier shoe?
ANI: I designed the shoe.
DeFY: Just about every brand has a shoe to mimic the barefoot experience (Nike Free, Reebok Realflex, New Balance Minimus, Vibram Five Fingers, etc.) and one of the greatest footwear designers of our time (Tinker Hatfield) says he sports plain Converse Chucks around the house for the barefoot experience. Then, you have companies like Asics, Vivobarefoot, and Saucony (to name a few ) that also offer vegan sneakers that mimic the barefoot experience. What sets ANI sneakers apart from all these other companies?
ANI: A lot of things set us apart from all these other companies. Most of these shoes are not truly barefoot shoes, we are. Just because a shoe can bend easily does not mean it is barefoot. A lot of these shoes are way to thick and most of their foot beds are not flat due to unnecessary elevations and angles that put your feet in an unnatural position. In order for a shoe to be barefoot it must have a super thin outsole that bends easily while having a flat foot bed so your feet can be in a natural position as if you were barefoot. ANI does exactly this. Also, most of the shoes mentioned in your question are not Eco-Friendly, are not Vegan, are not the best looking shoes, and are not giving back to charity. WE ARE! ANI is Eco-Friendly. Our shoes are made of 100% organic canvas and are packing is all recycled/recyclable. ANI is vegan. No animal products are used in our shoes. ANI has style with some amazing looking shoes and ANI will be giving back to charity with every purchase of our products as soon as we get off the ground. YOU CANT BEAT THAT! (inside joke from are product description video).
DeFY: Speaking of that product description video……..lol. Who are the girls and who’s idea was it?
ANI: The girls are exactly what they say they are, ANI Girls! Beautiful girls that are all about ANI Shoes. The brand is everyone’s idea. TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE! I always ask everyone for their advice and opinions on ANI and implement them accordingly in order to better the brand. Its how we came up with the idea for the video.
DeFY: You state that the packaging is recyclable, does that mean I can just stick it in my recycle bin and be good to go?
ANI: YES, you can stick it in a recycle bin and be good to go.
DeFY: Any other designs on the way?
ANI: There are many other designs on the way, we just have to get off the ground.
DeFY: Where can everyone go to follow all things ANI?
ANI: They can go to our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, visit our website (anishoes.com) or contact me via email (yama@anishoes.com).
Make sure to check out ANI on kickstarter.com if you would like to back this project!