Describe Page

Birkenstock® USA, began over 30 years ago when the founder, Margot Fraser, had a dream of sharing the comfort and health benefits of Birkenstock shoes. A few years earlier, while visiting a German resort, she had tried on her first pair and was extremely impressed at how good they felt. From there, Margot learned that the original Birkenstock contoured footbed was invented and manufactured in Germany by Konrad Birkenstock in 1897. In fact, the Birkenstock family has been shoemakers for over 225 years – more than two centuries of creating and perfecting a tradition of walking comfort.

Birki’s® was founded in the early 90's by Stephan Birkenstock The goal was to create stylish sandals that were not only good for you but also something to show off. All Birki's shoes and sandals are made in Germany using environmentally-friendly process and proven craftsmanship.

Most Birkenstock and Birki's footbeds are crafted from a cork-latex mixture. The cork used is 100% renewable and sustainable harvested from the Oak tree. The harvesting of the cork does not harm the Oak Tree and allows for new bark to grow back beginning the life cycle all over again. Each contoured footbed will molds and shapes to your foot with the heat of your body creating a custom footbed that supports and cradles each and every step. For the customer that wants a cushioned footbed, they can now enjoy the soft footbed that is offered by Birkenstock shoes and Birki's shoes. Available in a variety of styles, the time-tested cork construction has been enhanced with a layer of memory foam.

Start your child off on the right foot with Birkenstock Kids shoes and Birki’s Kids shoes. Children need footwear that is good for their growing feet. The contoured footbed supplied by Birkenstock Kids shoes and Birki's Kids shoes mirrors the natural shape of the foot, offering excellent support. Birkenstocks Kids shoes and Birki’s Kids shoes are created according to the daily needs of children. Many styles available in the Birkenstock Kids and Birki's Kids line can be purchased in the adult version.

A large portion of Birkenstock shoes and Birki's shoes are completely repairable and renewable, reducing the potential for tons of waste to be dumped in land fills each year. From old favorites in fresh colors to new styles and materials, you can easily reuse and refresh your Birkenstock shoes and Birki's shoes for year to come.

GIZEH543761 Price: 83.98 PATENT T STRAP THONG SANDAL

GIZEH-KIDS Price: 57.98 T STRAP THONG SANDAL

Birkenstock FAQ18th Century Beginnings

Is there really a Mr. Birkenstock? The answer is yes! As a matter of fact, generations of Birkenstock family members have been designing and crafting footwear since 1774, when Johann Birkenstock worked as a shoemaker in a small German village.

A Revolutionary Idea in Comfort

In the 1890s, Konrad Birkenstock, Johann's descendant and a custom shoemaker himself, had a revolutionary idea. Why not create a curved shoe that reflects the true shape of the human foot? The shoes were a great success, but unfortunately the next decade brought the introduction of cheaper factory-made shoes and a subsequent decline in the demand for custom-made footwear.

Konrad remained undaunted. He knew he had a good idea, so he decided to develop a flexible, contoured arch support that could be inserted into these new factory-made shoes. The result was a uniquely comfortable shoe. Thus, the century-old Birkenstock shoe making operation shifted from the production of custom footwear to orthopedic shoe inserts.

Konrad and his son Carl improved and refined the arch supports over the next 50 years. Their unique and popular product became known as "footbed supports" and the word "footbed" was registered as a Birkenstock trademark.

A New Kind of Sandal

In 1954, Konrad's grandson Karl joined the family business. Not content to limit the Birkenstock product line to footbed supports, Karl dreamed of creating a shoe that would allow the wearer to feel as comfortable and healthy as walking barefoot. To create this shoe, he combined his grandfather's flexible, contoured arch supports with his own knowledge of foot structure and movement.
In a little more than 10 years, his dream became a reality with the introduction of the Madrid.

From Germany to America

In 1966, Margot Fraser bought her first pair of footbed sandals while vacationing in her native Germany. She discovered that the sandals greatly alleviated the chronic foot pain she had experienced since childhood. Margot realized that this was a shoe that had to come to America, and she began to sell the shoes to friends from her home in Santa Cruz, California. She is now the exclusive distributor for Birkenstock in the United States.

The Innovation Continues

Today, Birkenstock offers more than 400 styles of sandals, clogs, and shoes. Birkenstocks are available in a wide range of materials, colors, and sizes, and new materials and styles are introduced each year. Yet Birkenstock remains faithful to the idea that footwear should be designed first for the feet and should be built to last.

BIRKENSTOCK and The Green Team
The cork used in the insoles of Birkenstock sandals is a renewable resource, and is harvested by skilled laborers within the European community as by-product of the bottling industry (Birkenstock Story). The footbed can be replaced easily and repeatedly for longer product life. This appeals to the "reduce, reuse and recycle" concept instead of the high consumption aspect of buying a new flashy pair as the old ones wear down or fall out of style. Unlike the competition, Birkenstock only puts out a few new styles and colors each year, sticking with a base of classics. This leaves less to accumulate and to throw away on the consumption side. On the production and retail side it also means less shipping, packaging and inventory.

The Birkenstock Green Team is a US Birkenstock institution, started at its inception in the sixties. It consists of a "small group of employees who meet voluntarily to monitor, research, and resolve environmental issues in the workplace, and to educate fellow employees about sound environmental practices" (Birkenstock Green Team). The Green Team works with the Birkenstock Managerial Team, and with the "full support and encouragement of Margot Fraser" to create a sound environmental workplace. Its Eco-Mission Statement reads:

-Educate ourselves and our associates about environmental issues
-Minimize consumption and re-use when possible
-Purchase recycled products from environmentally responsible companies (Birkenstock Green Team)."

These ideas also come through in the packaging Birkenstocks uses for its shoes, care products and shipping, with the majority being recycled and recyclable (Birkenstock Green Team).