Gravity Defyer are a shoes manufacturer which unveiled their footwear back in 2008 that had a spring embedded in the heel to help increase cushioning. Gravity Defyer markets an array of sports shoes, casual shoes, dress footwear, boots, hiking shoes and sandals for both men and women which are on the highly-priced side. They name their particular innovative spring and coil impact absorbing process design, Versoshock which is patented. The company additionally report that it is scientifically proven to ease knee joint pain, based on a 2017 controlled research project by Olive View UCLA Healthcare Facility. In the study, those who were without knowing offered shoes equipped with VersoShock Technology experienced 85% less knee joint symptoms. Depending on these outcomes and anecdotes, Gravity Defyer are making a number of health claims with regard to their shoes.
Unfortunately for Gravity Defyer the actual research that supports the health statements that they're making is not very strong or non-existent. Because of this, the Federal Trade Commission in the USA (FTC) demanded Gravity Defyer to undertake modifications in the approach which they promote and showcase the shoes. According to the Federal Trade Commission the company hasn't been agreeable with the task, so the FTC have recently lodged legal action against the company for making health assertions about their footwear which are not backed up by the scientific evidence. Gravity Defyer have asserted they are compliant and that their assertions about their shoes are supported by the research. The FTC have stated that the statements made by Gravity Defyer usually are over-stated plus they are making claims which are over and above exactly what the evidence actually says.
Gravity Defyer have before courted some controversy since their original logo in the footwear was designed looking like a sperm. This company used this brand to suggest that utilizing their shoes could cause a new living and the sperm logo represents the seed of a brand new life. Gravity Defyer did publish a news release defending the use of the imagery as their logo design, but it did subject the company to a lot of humor and also ridicule. Quite a few industry experts in advertising and marketing and design ended up being also critical of this. They finally modified the logo in 2015 without any statement.
The FTC has a reputation for following through against footwear businesses and it made considerable multi-million dollar penalties coming from a number of producers of the so-called toning shoe suppliers about 10 years back. These companies too produced numerous health and wellbeing claims for their footwear from fixing posture problems to firming up the buttocks. There was clearly no data for any of the claims those companies made. Some manufacturers in addition encountered class-action legal actions from customers about their health claims. The Vibram Five Finger footwear business also paid out a class action lawsuit over promises for their running footwear and health. The real difference in these cases and the Gravity Defyer one is that there is some data to support the claims that they are making. The challenge in the lawsuit is if the effects of the data are actually considered properly by the company and the strength of that evidence to back up the degree and power of the assertions made by Gravity Defyer.