FiveFingers minimalist footwear under fire for misleading advertising

That's just the way it is. These are not good times for the well-known manufacturer Vibram, which has been one of the pioneers in revolutionizing the Running shoes market with the concept of 'Barefoot' or minimalist footwear. Its main claim is to promote a running style with which athletes are less prone to injury and more efficient in their races.

And the ultimate exponent of this philosophy era the FiveFingers model by Vibram. And we said era because this minimalist running shoe is under suspicion. Three class action lawsuits for misleading advertising are causing more than one headache for Vibram. The fact is that the benefits that FiveFingers brings to the health of users who wear this type of sports footwear have been called into question. In fact, Vibram has reached an economic agreement with the plaintiffs, obliging the company to deposit a total amount of 27 million euros as a money-back guarantee to all those users who request it.

However, the restitution of this amount is subject to several requirements:

• Users who have purchased a Vibram FiveFingers model after March 21, 2009, and show their dissatisfaction with the model purchased.
• The amount of this refund per user will not exceed 68 euros.

The crux of the matter

As reported in The Washington Post, the first complaint against Vibram was filed in March 2012 by Valerie Bezdek. This American citizen filed a lawsuit against Vibram USA, stating that several advertising campaigns of the FiveFingers model were misleading consumers, since it was advertised that this model era able to "reduce injuries and strengthen the muscles of the feet without this fact having been scientifically proven". Later, the case opened by Bezdek was joined by two new complaints filed in Illinois and California.

On the other hand, the news of The Washington Post also reflects that Vibram has not taken responsibility for this series of complaints. And, that apart from the money deposited in the account, the company has also committed to donate all the money left over, once the refunds have been paid, to the American Heart Association. And that's not all, because Vibram, and until it presents new tests and studies that prove otherwise, must withdraw the slogan and the statements of discord from its advertising campaigns of the FiveFingers model.

Previous cases

However, and unfortunately, the chapter of misleading advertising related to manufacturers of sports brands already has its journey, and there are very resounding cases, such as Rebook and Skechers.

In 2011, Rebook was forced to pull the bank account and pay a penalty of 18 million euros, while in the case of Skechers, in 2012, the penalty amounted to 31 million euros. In both cases, and also without proven scientific rigor, there were products that ventured to claim that they were able to correct posture, improve circulation and even slim down.

Photos: Vibram FiveFingers.