What you Uneed to know about Birkenstocks:

• The Legendary Footbed
• How to read a width
• Materials and Finishes
• The Collections
• Care and repair tips

The Legendary Birkenstock Footbed

Birkenstock uses the natural shape of the foot to create the Original Birkenstock Footbed. When you walk in anything with a Birkenstock footbed, your foot is supported naturally as if you were walking on soft yielding sand.

• Toe Room - The wide toe box gives toes room to bend and flex and enables the foot to stay in proper alignment. This promotes better balance, leverage and weight distribution.
• Neutral Heel - This feature focuses the weight of the body on the heel. The natural height of our heel helps keep the body in proper alignment.
• Raised Toe Bar - Just like walking barefoot, it encourages the natural gripping motion of your feet and exercises your legs.
• Arch Support - The natural shape of the footbed includes a pronounced arch area to give proper support, improved balance, and encourage better posture and circulation.
• Deep Heel Cup - This feature helps focus the weight of your body on the heel. The heel cup stabilizes the foot and helps absorb the shock of walking.
• Sole - It's flexible, durable, lightweight, and shock absorbing.
• Cork Footbed - The footbed is made of a cork/latex combination, which like walking on a natural sandy beach yields to support the entire foot.
• Jute - Two layers: The top layer wicks away moisture; the bottom layer adds strength and makes resoling easier.
• Footbed Liner - Out soft liners absorb moisture and add comfort.

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How to Read a Birkenstock Width

These symbols can easily be found on the footbed of each shoe, or on the outside of the original box.

Narrow Width	Medium Width	Regular Width

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Birkenstock Finishes and Materials

• Smooth Leather - All styles denoted as "leather" have a classic smooth finish.
  
• Suede - Chosen from select hides, this soft, thick napped leather is exceptionally comfortable.
• Nubuck - Quality leather that is buffed to a soft velvety finish.
  
• Waxy - A waxy finish is applied to buffed leather resulting in this fashionable, distressed look.
• Embossed - Nubuck, burnished, and smooth leathers are embossed with special patterns or textures.

• Birko-Flor - A durable acrylic and polyamide felt fiber material with a smooth leather-like finish.
• Birkibuc - A textured Birko-Flor made to look and feel like a velvety nubuck.
• Woven Nylon - It hugs your foot for a snug fit, yet flexes with motion, giving a lighter agile feel.
• Microfiber - Soft synthetic durable material with suede-like finish.
• Polyurethane - Water and stain-resistant material used to create out Birki Clogs and some of our soles.
• EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate) - Water and stain-resistant material that is softer and lighter than polyurethane. A durable sole material.
• Sympa Tex - High-tech breathable membrane that keeps feet dry while allowing moisture to pass through. Found in our technical hiking shoes and boots.

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Birkenstock Collections

	CLASSIC The timeless silhouettes that made Birkenstock famous and new styles to continue the tradition. Classic Original Contoured Footbed made of Natural Cork and Latex. Significant Arch Support, Toe bar, and neutral heel.
	FOOTPRINTS Sophisticated and technical shoes and boots with the same comfort as our sandals. All styles come with a removable footbed that features moderate arch support.
	Pappillio The latest style and trends expressed with color, texture, design and flair. The Papillio Footbed has slightly lower arch support then the classic footbed and features a slightly flared heel for increased lateral stability.
	ALPRO Professional comfort for hard workers who spend all day on their feet. The Alpro footbed has slightly lower arch support than our classic footbed and features a slightly flared heel for increased lateral stability.
	Birki's An assortment of cork and waterproof sandals and clogs. The Birkis cork collection footbed has slightly lower arch support than our classic footbed and features a slightly flared heel for increased lateral stability. Most styles are free of animal products.
	TATAMI A range of comfort... from rugged trekking sandals, to contemporary slip-ons, to cork sandals with unique designs. Some styles feature a slightly higher arch, with a rocker bottom and a flared heel for stability.
	Newalk Newalk features footwear for the active lifestyle. Building on classic Birkenstock comfort, Newalk sandals and shoes feature the "run sole"; a skid-proof, outstanding shock-absorbing outsole.

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Birkenstock Care and Repair Tips

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