Earth shoes first hit the international scene in the early part of the 1970s. In an era when women's shoes featured high heels, narrow toes and dangerously skinny arches, the odd looking shoes attracted the attention of the fashion world and the popular media. With their wide toe boxes,"negative" heels and rocker bottoms, they were often referred to as the ugliest shoes ever created.

Like most fads and trends, though, earth shoes had their supporters. Created by a family-owned company in Scandinavia, Earth shoes were seen as a healthy and body-friendly alternative to traditional 'fashion' footwear. The main feature of the Earth shoe is the 'negative heel', created by a thick fore sole and thin heel. The bed of the shoe is designed to place the heel lower than the ball and toes of the foot, which, say Earth shoe enthusiasts, encourages better posture and a more natural gait.

Like walking on the beach

Among the innovations that the original Earth shoes made popular are innovations that have been carried through into many other 'healthy' shoe lines, including many of today's most popular shoes. Those innovations included:

Wide toe boxes. Unlike the most popular shoes of the era, which featured narrow, pointed toes for both women and men, Earth shoes had round; wide toe boxes that made the shoes look similar to a spatula. For a fashion industry used to shoes designed to make feet look small and dainty, the look was bizarre, and more than one design columnist joked that you might as well wear shoeboxes on your feet and toss out the shoes. The wide toe box serves an important purpose. It allows the toes to spread naturally and grip the 'ground' as they're meant to do. Liberating cramped toes alone was enough to make the Earth shoe a popular style.

Negative heel. The second obvious characteristic of the original Earth shoe was the low heel. Not low as in 'under two inches', but low as in lower than the toe. The foot bed and sole are built in such a way that when standing flat, the heel of the foot is positioned lower than the ball and toes of the foot. This encourages better posture, according to the makers of Earth shoes, and also encourages the calf and other muscles of the legs to work harder.

The reasoning behind the negative heel has to do with the natural barefoot gait, which is a heel-to-toe motion. The publicity for Earth shoes claims that walking in Earth shoes is like walking on the beach, where the weight of the body pushes the heel down into the sand, and then the foot has to roll"uphill" to push off into the next step. You can check the reality of that statement by looking at barefoot footsteps on the beach.

Rocker bottoms. Rather than flat soles, the Earth shoe featured a molded shoe bottom that rocked the foot forward with each step. Again, the reasoning has to do with the natural human gait. Humans are not meant to place the weight of each step on the ball of their foot. Rather the heel absorbs the impact of the step, then the foot"rocks' forward as the body's weight moves to center over it. Finally, the heel comes up off the ground and the toes grip to push off into the next step.

The NEW Earth Shoe

The Earth shoe company stopped making Earth shoes for many years, instead contracting with other shoe manufacturers to make high quality shoes. Recently, the company has begun making their original Earth shoe again, and marketing it internationally. Today's Earth shoes are available in a wide variety of styles and fashions. Every Earth shoe features the Kalso Negative Heel Technology, which positions the heel at a precise 3.7 degree negative incline in comparison to the toe.

Why 3.7 degrees? The original shoe was designed by a Danish yoga master to simulate the angle of the feet during a traditional Yoga pose. The angle positions the toes higher than the heels, putting the cushioning to the part of the foot designed to bear the weight â€" the heel. It shifts the body weight back over the heels, putting the body into a more natural, empowered position which triggers an array of whole body benefits.

There are many benefits to the Kalso negative heel technology besides creating better posture. The company also points to anecdotal evidence that seem to suggest that walking and playing in Earth shoes can actually help you burn more calories during every day activities. This is due to the longer heel extension and hip flexion used in walking in Earth shoes. Next time you are looking for a healthy shoe, Earth Shoes can benefit you in many ways. You should feel much better after wearing Earth Shoes.