Softstar Shoes in Parent & Child Magazine
In their May 2008 issue, Parent & Child included an article titled "Clothes with a Conscience" about eco-friendly kids attire. Softstar moccasins were featured in both leather and vegan styles. Below are photos as well as some content from the article:
Clothes with a Conscience
By Vanessa McGrady, photography by Peter LaMasto for Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine, May 2008
Every choice we make as consumers has an impact on our environment's health—and on our own. Choosing green clothing can be smart, affordable, cute and easy if you know a few facts about the environmental issues behind the manufacturing process and where to go for delightful duds. After looking over our tips, you'll be ready for the eco-fashion "runway."
Green Growers:
- Buy locally produced goods. For most clothing, the raw materials are grown (or manufactured), assembled and packaged in separate countries, so the shipping to put it all together produces tons of pollution. Look for companies that make their gear in the United States.
- Choose Organic Clothing. It keeps lots of harmful chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides ou of the ecosystem and your body. More pesticides are used on cotton than any other crop in the world, and they harm the cotton workers, local wildlife, and even you.
- Know your fabric facts. Look for items made of sustainable materials, such as hemp, bamboo, and organic wool and cotton. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on Earth; plus it blocks UV rays and has anti-bacterial properties.
- Recycle your threads. Filling the closet with hand-me-downs and thrift store finds delivers the least impact to the planet—and to your wallet. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
- Choose for durability. Quality clothes don't need replacing as often, and you can pass them along in good conditions when you bid them adieu. Look for securely sewn buttons, tight stitching, and firm seams.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I have purchased over 8 pair of 'minimalist' shoes in the past 3 years...none of them felt like walking barefoot to me......until now. Your leather is soft your soles are flat and my foot is relaxed!!!"
"My entire experience with Softstar has been nothing short of an amazing experience from beginning to end. Will not buy any other shoes...my feet no longer hurt at all."
"This shoe is exactly what you would hope it to be. High quality leather and workmanship in a simple, natural stance running shoes made of all natural materials. Glad I found them."
"I've never had shoes that have fit as well as these or received as many compliments… I wish I had found them sooner!"
"There are no other shoes like Softstar - strong, comfortable, pretty - the best choice of minimal shoes one can get. Thank you for making our lives easier and wonderful!"
"I am loving these shoes! They are just lovely to have on the feet. And I am not easily impressed... There's nothing on the market that I know of that allows full toe splay! To me, it's a beautiful thing to let the toes move with absolute freedom in the shoe. I cannot do that with ANY OTHER of the barefoot shoes."
"I spent SO MANY years searching for a shoe to fit my feet. At last, you have given me such a shoe! I am convinced that had I met this shoe 30 years ago, I would not have the deformed feet I have now, nor would I have had surgery done on one of them. Abundant thanks for this design that honors my feet."
"These shoes are absolute perfection… The toe box finally allows my pinky toe and big toe to splay naturally and has taken away all previous foot pain… My feet will accept nothing less now."
"Finally something I will wear to work that is truly foot shaped… I usually take my shoes off as soon as I arrive home. I was so comfortable in these that I didn't think about it, and I left them on for hours into the evening."
"These are fantastic. Softstar showed themselves as the best minimal shoe company on the market with these. Functionally, they are the best fitting shoes I own, and they are the most stylish."
"Blown away. These should be the standard. I work at a physio clinic and see multiple people come in with foot pain (bunions, flat feet, plantar fasciitis) and it's mostly because of the effects of improper footwear over time... These shoes are the perfect solution."
"These are the best shoes I've ever owned. FINALLY A TOE BOX SHAPED LIKE A HEALTHY FOOT… I can wear my toe separators in these without any squishing or pressure against the sides of the shoe. Finally, finally, finally... someone prioritized function over form in creating a shoe that feels great to wear."