An Introduction

Since the birth of humanity, people have lived on their feet in order to work, play and survive.

Sadly, society has developed an unfortunate bias against such vital parts of their own bodies. There is now a widespread collective mindset that feet should be encased in rigid, restrictive shoes. This footwear is able to cause terrible and irreparable damage over the course of a person's life. Active use of non-breathing footwear compels many to negatively stereotype feet as being ugly, sweaty, smelly and gross. What's more, the thousands of nerve endings in a person's feet become numb while shod and unable to properly communicate with their minds. Feet are often called "fragile" or "too sensitive."

Basically, the feet of the world are regularly neglected and rarely ever allowed to be feet.

It is time for the world's perceptions of feet to change.

The human foot, as it was given to us, is amazing! When free from unnecessary restriction, it is capable of surprising strength and resilience. When it is restored as a vital sensory receptor for our bodies, the world opens up and we experience our surroundings with exponentially greater clarity and definition. What's more, many of us believe that living on our feet, as nature intended, is a significant gateway to better health.

This is the nature of the primal foot: Getting back to the basics and letting feet be feet first. It is moving through life free of imprudently restrictive, inflexible, or gait-altering footwear.

The Primalfoot Alliance advocates wholeheartedly for going barefoot.

Healthy feet contribute to our overall health. Taking our shoes off allows each of the bones, joints, nerve endings and other biological systems in our feet to function at their highest degree. Psychologically, going barefoot helps you relieve stress and feel more relaxed.

Therefore, we believe that most people can and should be allowed to live their lives on bare feet -- even when they shop, dine, worship, learn, play and more in public. Unfortunately, the efforts of many primalfooters have been rejected in recent generations.

For decades, many business establishments have posted signage stating that customers without shoes are not welcome. Some incorrectly claim that it's illegal to go barefoot. Other times when signage hasn't been posted, patrons with no shoes have been approached with spontaneous unwritten "policies" and asked to don footwear or leave.

Motorists, even, have been wrongly informed across many areas of the world that driving barefoot is illegal when it usually is not.

The excuses for rejecting bare feet have been widespread and mostly without merit. They are typically based on unfounded concerns over safety, health, liability or social appropriateness. Barefooters, however, often share that modern sidewalks, streets, grassy areas, carpet, tile and other surfaces rarely contain dangerous sharp objects and are a low risk for injury or infection. Barefooters are usually more than willing to take on any liability for injuries sustained as a result of going without shoes. Questions of social appropriateness are more of a matter of unfortunate personal bias and a lack of critical reflection.

The Primalfoot Alliance acknowledges that there are times when going barefoot is not possible for cultural, professional, health or safety reasons. In these rare times, we believe that minimal footwear can be a prudent option for feet to function primally, moving with flexibility and strength. Primal footwear is what many people have used for centuries and that modern people in developed lands can embrace.

The Primalfoot Alliance has been formed to:

• Educate and/or dialogue with the public, media, government officials, businesspeople and many others on the benefits of going barefoot.
• Encourage those who wish to live barefoot and advocate for them in the face of discrimination.
• Raise worldwide awareness of people who prefer to live barefoot.
• Become partners with those who design, manufacture, promote, purchase and/or use primal footwear.
• Assist with sponsoring and/or coordinating activities that bring primalfooters together.

To be clear, the Primalfoot Alliance is NOT about foot fetishes or clearly dangerous activities. Our intent is not to encourage sexual or flirtatious acts. We also do not agree with people doing harmful things to their feet or putting their feet at significant risk. For example, we fully understand that many diabetics with neuropathy should avoid going barefoot in order to prevent undetectable injuries that could threaten life or limb.

If you are in a role of leadership for a business, church, library, school or other entity and question the merits of allowing your patrons to go barefoot, please reconsider. Look around this Website with an open mind and let us try to ease your concerns. We understand that these concepts are different from what you are used to, but we also believe that we can address and alleviate any of the "sticking points" that may compel you to require footwear. Of note, our FAQs section will answer your questions and we have Profiles of barefooters to help show you that we're just everyday people like you.

If you believe that feet are amazing and deserve greater respect and health without restrictive footwear, please join us. If you are a barefooter, primalfoot runner, blogger, Facebooker, Twitter user, podiatrist or anybody else who advocates for living on feet as nature intended them, we need for you to be a part of The Primalfoot Alliance. Keep doing the great things you're doing, but please also connect with us. Share this site with those around you who question the validity of going barefoot. If you maintain a site or blog that encourages healthy living, join our Affiliate Program. The Primalfoot Alliance will never reach its full potential without your help. Together we will make a big difference in changing the world's perceptions of feet. Thank you so much for your support.