ASPECTS OF CARE: ETHOS OF THE FROGGIE BRAND

Some of the aspects addressed by the makers of Froggie shoes in striving for style, comfort and technological excellence are …

• Investigations into cushioning materials
• Laser technology employed in three dimensional foot measurement surveys to improve fit
• Improved formulae for foot care products
• Careful selection of materials for comfort

An indication of the Froggie commitment to quality, comfort and customer satisfaction is such that their in-house consultant Podiatrist was able to trace why a few customers experienced reactions to shoes while the majority did not. The analysis task took months to complete and resulted in an entire industry benefitting from the knowledge of what was causing the problem.

The task of evaluating a suspected shoe allergy is very complex, from knowing how a shoe is constructed as well as tracing the dozens of chemicals used in the manufacturing process, then looking for a match with a person’s allergy profile. Skin patch testing (using tiny quantities of known allergens, as used by Dermatologists and sourced from Switzerland) was used to test customers who had experienced a skin reaction.

Both the Department of Microbiology and that of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Johannesburg were involved in the investigation of the chemical composition of materials and adhesives. Shoes that had been returned as suspected “cause” of the reactions were unstitched and leather sent for Chromium testing. Chromium levels returned were well within EU limits and no Hexavalent Chromium was present.

Allergens are the substances that cause the response. Several chemicals together with the relative warm, humid environment within a shoe or sandal, and slight friction on the foot, can create an ideal situation for its development, even though a shoe may not have been the first source of the allergen. Many of these chemicals are used to manufacture many types of household and clothing items, hair dyes and even in the motor industry. It was thus entirely possible that a person could be sensitized (exposed) to the allergen from one source and then have the reaction triggered by a different source.

Customers were approached to volunteer for skin patch testing at no cost. Results of the skin patch tests showed that customers were each allergic to a variety of different chemicals but not one person’s test result matched with another person!

In addition, the shoes that the complainants wore were all different, from different batches of work tickets, different materials, different leathers, different machines, different operators, manufactured at different times of the year.

The investigators even considered the possibility of environmental pollution – since wind borne dust can carry many allergens. Environmental testing was carried out by independent contractors outside air intakes and inside the factory, with negative results.

One common denominator was the adhesive used to join a lining to an upper – but the supplier had already furnished a list of ingredients used to make the glue, all of which were safe according to published standards. It was only after repeated research through a myriad of chemical manufacture research documents that notes were found describing various types of preservatives used in adhesives. In furnishing the chemical composition list on request from Froggie, suppliers had not furnished their list of preservatives. The chemical composition of the adhesive preservative for glue type CB240 was found to include Formaldehyde (also known as Formalin), a very capable anti-bacterial but also a known allergen for 0.02% of the population – about 1 in 5000 people – about as many people who may, unknowingly, be allergic to shellfish.

The CB240 glue was immediately removed from production, and an article published in the shoe and leather trade publication to advise the industry in Southern Africa. Affected customers who were skin tested have had full credits passed so that they could replace their shoes with shoes now made with non-allergenic adhesives. Froggie also prides itself on the fact that it will not use PVC in any footwear (unlike some other school shoe manufacturers), since Carcinogenic Dioxins are created when PVC is produced, recycled and disposed of in incinerators, and when PVC products burn in accidental fires such as landfill fires.