The Barefoot Revolution

By Dominic Jones

Terra Plana uses innovative approaches to create “sustainable” shoes. Creating sustainability in manufacturing is often thought of as minimizing the “footprint” of production (if you have an aversion to cheap puns you should probably stop reading). The focus has increasingly shifted to include the function and use of products and a more holistic picture of the full life cycle of the shoe.

I was excited to work with Terra Plana when I heard that they produced “barefoot shoes” (I love an oxymoron). These are patented ultra thin and flexible shoes that allow the foot to feel and move as if it were bare. As a physiology student my snake oil senses were initially aroused, but the further I’ve delved into the concept the more I’m convinced that it is in fact an elegant solution to a genuine problem and has far reaching potential for positive change.

The development of the VIVOBAREFOOT concept is an interesting one. I won’t go into the history, but for those of you interested you can read the full story here. VIVOBAREFOOT has evolved from being a range of Terra Plana to a brand in it’s own right. In fact the company sells more of these shoes now than any other and is in the process of launching the first VIVOBAREFOOT concept store.

A number of events have helped to spread the popularity of barefoot shoes, but without a doubt the largest must be “Born to Run”, a book written by Chris McDougall. There’s a great TED talk by McDougall here that explains why humans were born to run, barefoot. This was followed by groundbreaking research on running in habitually barefoot populations from Havard University, published in the journal Nature.

Part of my remit at Terra Plana has been to help develop and spread a clearer understanding of the science behind VIVOBAREFOOT and barefoot running. The latest project has been the release of an eBook written by Lee Saxby, VIVOBAREFOOT’s resident biomechanical expert.


Lee’s message is simple: running is a skill, and all running injuries are due to a lack of skill. What this means is that due to the forces involved when running, around 2 times body weight on a single leg, you must make sure your form allows for the correct distribution of these forces. Running barefoot allows you to improve your running skill by connecting you to your proprioceptive sense (proprioception is the body’s awareness of the forces acting on it, felt, for example, primarily in the feet whilst running).

What is especially interesting is the size of the prize. Running in the UK is the third most popular sport with around 1.8m participants and some of the highest annual growth rates. Estimates vary but put the number of runners injured each year at up to 80%. I therefore encourage you to have a look and pass on to any runners you know. Engaged debate supported by robust and independent science is the testbed of all radical new ideas!

http://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/