OrthoLite celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2022 following “record-setting growth years.”
“Our growth is a testament to the brand partnerships we have forged over the years and also to the efforts and ingenuity of the entire OrthoLite family,” said Glenn Barrett, founder and CEO. “As we celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary in 2022, we remain inspired and relentlessly committed to delivering better, more sustainable, comfort solutions for our partners and for the people who use our products.”
Barrett, a footwear industry veteran and entrepreneur, founded OrthoLite in 1997, when he introduced the first comfort-performance, open-cell foam PU insole, changing the interior environment in the shoe. “From day one, our mission was simple—go help brands make better, more comfortable shoes,” he said.
Before OrthoLite insole materials were generic, commodity foams—a basic filler material that didn’t breathe, compressed or flattened too quickly, and caused sweat and odor to accumulate. Barrett introduced the first high-performance, open-cell foam PU insole that provided a cooler, drier and healthier interior environment in the shoe.
The company also set an early precedent in sustainable practices by prioritizing the use of recycled rubber. Every OrthoLite insole contains at least five percent recycled rubber preventing “over 300 metric tons of rubber waste from entering landfills each year,” said the company. In 2022 it plans to create initiatives to finding circular solutions in footwear.
As the insole supplier for “over 350 footwear brands worldwide, across all categories, including athletic, running, comfort, golf, lifestyle, and fashion,” OrthoLite insoles are used in more than “500 million pairs of shoes every year.”
With COVID and the supply chain challenges, the company’s vertically-integrated structure led to increased sales and efficient operations. “We provide high levels of risk mitigation for our brand partners through our global scale, our production redundancies, and increased capacities,” Barrett explained.
“Thanks to the tenacity and brilliance of our team, OrthoLite continues to overcome challenges through our continued collaboration and commitment to our brand partners,” Barrett said. “We see a better future for footwear, we will continue to innovate around both comfort and sustainability, and we’re honored to lead the way.”
