From Shoe Size to Foot Size

Lotte and I always ask ourselves: "What would Mother Earth do if she were our boss?"

One of the issues that would surely give her a headache is the high return rate of online purchases. Between 25-30% of shoes and clothing bought online are returned.

Online giants encourage this behavior with slogans like "free shipping and returns" and "try before you buy." They aim to eliminate any barriers between you and your impulse purchase. In the end, it's just a cold calculation.

Nearly 70% of the time we return clothing and shoes, it's because they don't fit or we don't like them. The lack of a universal shoe size is a major factor. For example, a size 40 at Hoka is 24.5 cm, while at Skechers, it's 27 cm. That's a 2.5 cm difference, no wonder they don't fit! This discrepancy exists because shoe brands think in terms of lasts, not feet. But we can change that. The solution is almost too simple to be true.

How It Works

  1. Grab a sheet of A4 paper and a tape measure. Easy, right?
  2. Measure the length and width of your feet.

Next time you shop online, don't just look at the shoe size; check the size chart to ensure a perfect fit. It's not rocket science, just old-school measuring without the hassle.I urge all shoe brands to move away from traditional sizes and communicate in centimeters. It might be a bit challenging at first for consumers, but soon this will become the new normal.

At NOOCH, we currently ask customers to provide their foot measurements after purchase, but we still display traditional shoe sizes on our website. We're planning to change that.You might wonder: what's so special about measuring your feet, and

why could it be a game-changer?

Behind every click and every return lies a complex process. The package is sent back to the warehouse, unpacked, inspected, cleaned, repaired if necessary, repackaged, and resold (though this happens with less than half). The rest ends up gathering dust, being exported to low-wage countries, or going straight to the landfill.We're talking about millions of packages every day. Imagine that. The University of Bamberg calculated that each return emits 1,500 grams of CO2. That might not seem like much, but let's do the math.In 2020, the Netherlands returned 23 million packages (I don't have the latest figures, but I estimate it's about the same now). About 34% of those were clothing and shoes, roughly 7.8 million. 70% of those returns could be avoided with better communication. That leaves us with about 5.5 million unnecessary packages of clothing and shoes. This equates to over 8 million tons of CO2 emissions. To offset this, we would need to plant 391 million trees, which would require sacrificing the entire province of North Brabant.Sometimes we forget how something small can have a big impact. So, let's shift from shoe size to foot size.

Fun Fact: Did you know that in Japan, they already measure this way? It’s possible!

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