TerraPlana.com is temporarily closed whilst we undergo some organisational changes. Here’s an open letter from VIVOBAREFOOT’s Managing Director Galahad Clark.

Read more…

Here we are on the Guardian website:

Fancy winning a holiday to the Caribbean? Is that the stupidest question you’ve ever been asked? Probably. Anyway, to be in with a chance just head to a Terra Plana store and try on a pair of their Vivobarefoot shoes. Fifty runners up will also get a free pair of the shoes.
Terra Plana stores – Neal Street, Bermondsey Street, Kensington High Street and Brushfield Street in London, and Brighton. vivobarefoot.com

Spearheaded by new research and the international bestseller “Born to Run,” the ‘barefoot movement’ is gathering pace. London’s first Barefoot Experience is dedicated to helping people rediscover natural movement, and better health, from the feet up.

In January 2010 Professor Dan Lieberman of Harvard University released his seminal research on the benefits of barefoot and the dangers of normal padded running shoes (Nature Magazine, “Tread Softly”) adding to a number of other scientific studies showing how underfoot shoe technologies are doing more harm than good.

Two months later, Galahad Clarks (owner of Terra Plana) wife had a baby delivered by Dr. Gowri Motha. She followed Dr. Gowri’s Gentle Birth method and had a wonderful natural birth. Galahad and Gowri hit it off and especially connected on the benefits of being barefoot and the positive health benefits of stimulating your soles!

After a reflexology session in her St. Johns Wood clinic over an ayurvedic lunch, Galahad and Gowri decided to collaborate and bring her treatments directly to the public.

Terra Plana are creators of Vivobarefoot, the original barefoot shoe, with a patented ultra thin puncture resistant sole that gives all the benefits of being barefoot with protection. Terra Plana are proud to work with world’s leading barefoot running expert Lee Saxby as their main advisor on barefoot movement and an in store treadmill will give people a chance to try out ‘barefoot running’, get basic pointers from the staff, and attend running clinics from time-to-time.

Dr. Gowri Motha is an obstetrician and pioneer of water births and the gentle birth method in the UK. She advocates reflexology as an excellent all round treatment that promotes general health. Dr. Gowri was the first doctor in London to introduce reflexology as the treatment of choice for mothers in her care, in 1987.

Dr. Gowri’s experience with Terra Plana has led her to conclude that walking in Vivobarefoot shoes (with ultra thin soles) stimulates the reflexology points and was quick to conclude that mothers can enhance their health as they walk in the barefoot shoes.

Dr. Gowri’s team of health practitioners include reflexologists, an ayurvedic doctor, nutritionists and general health practitioners offering treatments to help ease common conditions like back problems and digestive disorders.

Come and enjoy the “Barefoot Experience”, kick off your shoes, release your feet, stimulate your soles and rediscover the joy of natural movement…

Where: 36 Kings Road, London SW3 / nearest tube: Sloane Square

To find out more about Dr Gowri and the Gentle Birth Method click here

Kelly Turner from Breathe Magazine wrote the article: "therapy for the body and sole" featuring the Isis.

Here's some of the article:

The thought of running around barefoot in the grass may conjure memories of childhood play, but people are leaving their stuffy gyms and running shoes in the dust to take fitness back to its roots, to move the body the way it was designed. Believe it or not, those fancy shoes may actually be hindering your performance, and your health. With warm weather here, now is the time for you to get in on this innovative, fun and surprisingly beneficial way to work up a sweat.

Read the rest on their website readbreath.com

“Terra Plana has become the latest brand to join STAG as a supplier.
The company has a range of eco-friendly footwear and accessories, including VivoBarefoot and Dopie.
“After meeting with Ben and Andrew from Terra Plana, learning about the product and actually seeing the range, we were extremely impressed and look forward to see this brand flourish,” says Ricky Chandler, managing director of STAG. “All of our STAG members will receive preferential terms.” “

We recently wrote a blog entry for 10:10.

10:10 is an organisation which challenges and encourages people, businesses and organisations to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 10% in 2010.

Here’s what we wrote:

Since signing up to 10:10 we have implemented several small, easy steps that have helped us cut our costs, carbon emissions and energy usage.

IN THE OFFICE

We are in the process of switching all our lighting to a combination of L.E.D. and compact fluorescent sources. We have a strict recycling policy to reduce the amount of office waste we throw away and maximise the amount we reuse and recycle. Our thermostat has been turned down a notch (much to the dismay of a few in the office!) Everyone walks, cycles or uses public transport (or a combination of) to get to work and we minimise the amount of international travel by effective communication.

OUR SHOES

We understand the inherent impacts of manufacturing our shoes and we are very much aware of the resources required to produce, package, ship, sell, and recycle them. Fundamentally a few key decisions in the design process, some careful and meticulous planning and a lot of hard work along the way enables us to offer a great range of shoes while working to reduce our impact.

Design

Our shoes are designed to survive. A long-lasting shoe gives you more wear for the amount of energy that went into its manufacture

The design of a shoe is probably the most important aspect in reducing energy usage and carbon emissions along the supply chain. We at Terra Plana regularly re-evaluate what we can do to minimize waste and toxin use and maximize product use and love.

Here are a few principles we try and stick to:

• We design our shoes so they are lightweight. This not only saves energy when we ship them around the world but it is also better for your feet.
• We minimise the amount of glue by using stitched constructions. Our Pop construction uses no glue whatsoever. Where we have to use glue, our factories endeavour to use water-based adhesives.
• Our shoes are designed to survive. A long-lasting shoe gives you more wear for the amount of energy that went into its manufacture, while our use of traditional shoemaking techniques makes our shoes easier to repair when they do start to wear out.

Materials

We use as many recycled materials as possible including recycled plastic bottles

Everything we make requires energy input, but we do make careful choices in the materials we use to keep this to a minimum. We use as many recycled materials as possible including PET (recycled plastic bottles), partially recycled soling rubbers, foam footbeds, nylon heels and quilts from a Pakistani co-operative.

By using vegetable tanned leather we reduce the amount of toxins and heavy metals needed in a normal tanning process. The leather is prepared by using vegetable extracts to create rich and beautiful colours.

Manufacture

Our shoes are manufactured in China, which has a dense network of the most advanced (and eco-friendly) component suppliers in the world. Although helping us minimise our production footprint. Making shoes in China is the most efficient way for us to deliver genuine value to our customers in a sustainable way.