Ready for a new pair of Crocs?

Yesterday, my wife and I just ordered another pair of Crocs. This will be our third since we began to buy the iconic footwear around 2009, but we don’t remember for sure. We use them as house sleeper and have found them very comfortable, silent and safe inside. We just couldn’t live without them. 

Crocs was developed in 2002 by Scott Seamans, Lyndon "Duke" Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr., who, as boating enthusiasts, were looking for a comfortable, slip-resistant shoe to wear on deck. The original design was based on a foam clog made by a Canadian company called Foam Creations. 

In 2004, the three inventors purchased the rights to the design, including the proprietary foam resin called Croslite, a closed-cell EVA resin, and began tweaking it to create the Croc shoe we know today. The name "Crocs" is for "crocodile," as the shoe was designed to be worn in or around water. 

Interestingly, I couldn’t verify if Lyndon Hanson was related to one the two Hanson brothers, Chris and Denny, who founded the Hanson Ski Company in 1961, but I had thought so, since, just like Crocs, they were established around Boulder, Colorado. 

Since imitation is the best form of flattery, lots of copycat companies have flourished over the years and have been sued by Crocs for infringing on its patented design and construction. Crocs look-alike brands include Airwalk, Crosskix, Poliwalks, USA Dawgs/Doggers and Veggies, among others. 

Versions of the Croc style clogs have also appeared in children's fashion catalogs, usually under their own name brands or as no names while other knock-offs have been found in discount stores, beach stores, and the like. 

I’ve always admired the clean design and the ergonomics of Crocs, and I’m not the only one, since the shoe was tested and recommended by the US. Ergonomics company in 2005 and were accepted by the American Podiatric Medical Association in 2009. 

There were also a few problems along the way, with small kids wearing small size Crocs getting caught in escalators in Japan, static electricity related problems in some medical environments, but by in large, after the usual ups and downs, the company is now floating on its success with more than $2 billions in annual revenue and showing no sign of slowing down.