In an effort to help the healthcare workers who are on the front lines in the fight against the novel coronavirus, Crocs has announced that it will be donating pairs of its simple rubber shoes to healthcare workers in the United States until it runs out of stock. A spokesperson for the company said it is offering 10,000 new pairs of shoes on its website every day at 12 p.m. ET until stocks last. Workers are able to go to the website and claim a free pair, as long as the company hasn't reached the 10,000-pair limit for the day.
The first day that Crocs offered this charitable program was March 27 and the company was overwhelmed with requests in just a few hours. Crocs wrote on Instagram that they had over 400,000 people in line on that first day. With about 20,000 physicians practicing urgent care medicine alone, there are hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses in hospitals and clinics who can benefit from a pair of free Crocs. While the company's website doesn't have a way to prevent consumers who are not healthcare workers from claiming a pair, they are keeping an eye on the potential issue and trusting that the public will leave the free shoes for the workers who need them most.
Andrew Rees, CEO of Crocs, has said that he got the idea for the donation program after speaking with healthcare workers, their facilities, and even their family members and friends.
"They have specifically asked for our shoes in an effort to provide ease on their feet, as well as ease of mind as they need the ability to easily clean up before they go home to their families," said Rees.
The reason why healthcare workers sport Crocs so often comes down to the material they are made of. Crocs are made of a molded polymer resin that feels and acts a lot like rubber. Not only does this material make the shoes comfortable to wear for long periods of time, but it makes them waterproof. Workers can also easily wash Crocs, which is a huge advantage in the COVID-19 crisis. The coronavirus is extremely contagious, attaching to a variety of different kinds of surfaces and then transmitting to patients.
In addition to the 10,000 pairs the company is donating every day to individual healthcare workers, Crocs has also said it is delivering about 100,000 pairs of shoes straight to hospitals and other facilities. To make the massive number of donations it aims to, Crocs has partnered with Shoe Carnival, Famous Footwear, and Rack Room Shoes. With all of these efforts, Rees hopes that the company's donations can help make a difference in healthcare workers' fight against the pandemic.
"The duration of our giveaway will depend on our level of inventory and the amount of requests we receive. These workers have our deepest respect, and we are humbled to be able to answer their call and provide whatever we can to help during this unprecedented time," said Rees.
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