This should win the most unusual invention award if there’s anything like that. Creating shoes that grow with the toes is something you will readily describe as a stupid idea.
I mean, you’ll agree that there are better, honourable and worthwhile things to invent. We should stick to usual norm of buying new shoes for kids when they’ve outgrown the ones they have huh? I wouldn’t disagree.
But, what if the essence of creating shoes that grow with the toes is to combat diseases caused by kids not having sustainable footwear?
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Anyway, the following facts about the shoes that grow with the toes will help you decide for yourself if this invention is worth the time, money, and effort spent on it.
What Inspired The Invention
Wiredbugs traced the beginning of the shoes that grow with the toes to 2007 when Kenton Lee the Founder of Because International visited Nairobi, Kenya. Mr Lee had been travelling the world to gain firsthand perspective about issues happening in developing countries.
In Kenya, Lee decided to work and live at an orphanage in Nairobi. One day, he saw a little girl in a white dress walking next to him and, was shocked to discover that her shoes were too small for her.
Mr Lee started wondering what he should do to help the girl and other kids. He started thinking about creating shoes that could adjust and expand; shoes that could grow. “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a shoe that could adjust and expand – so that kids always had a pair of shoes that fit?” Lee severally questioned himself.
Kenton Lee afterwards gathered some friends and they started working towards inventing shoes that can grow.
From our gatherings, several shoe companies rejected the idea of making shoes that grow with the toes. Lee and his friends were also discouraged by prototypes that failed. However, they pushed on and the project came to fruition in 2014.
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Shoeing Away Diseases
If you still think making shoes that grow with the toes is wacky, find comfort in the fact that they are being made to shoe away diseases.
The brains behind the invention were worried about over 2 billion people suffering from soil-transmitted diseases and parasites. These people “live in areas that do not have adequate sanitation. They struggle with proper hygiene. They do not have the right clothing, resources, or healthcare.
“Many of these diseases and parasites get into the body because people don’t have shoes. There are over 300 million children who do not have shoes. And countless more with shoes that do not fit. Sometimes they receive donations of shoes, but these are kids. Their feet grow. And they outgrow donated shoes within a year,” stated theshoethatgrows.org.
The Making Of Shoe That Grow And How It Works
At this point, you already know that the shoes can adjust and expand. They are being produced in three sizes – youth small, youth large and adult.
Generally, the shoes grow five sizes and can last for years. They are made with compressed rubber, anti-bacterial synthetic; easy to clean and use.
As the inspiration behind this invention was to make many shoes for kids who need them, production started in China where Kenton Lee and his guys got the best offer for high-quality shoes at affordable prices.
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https://vimeo.com/215510391?from=outro-embed
Apart from making shoes that grow with the toes, Because International is focusing on other projects that would better the lives of struggling kids in third world countries.
