The magazine SAFETY wrote an article about our products and company in the survey titled “At the feet of our heroes”, to focus again on the importance of the work of medical staff and healthcare workers, apparently left alone after the first lockdown; and on a medical device essential to them: the medical clog.
Here below the main extract from the article. You will find the link to the original article at the end. 

AT THE FEET OF OUR HEROES

All day in the ward, doctors and nurses, healthcare workers of all kinds, must wear footwear that is comfortable, stress-relieving, sterile: this is how the sector responds to the needs of those who are on the front line against the pandemic.

In the trenches throughout the pandemic. With exhausting shifts and at constant risk of their own safety. We chose the best word “heroes” to define all the healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, paramedics and operators who in various ways have committed themselves to the fight against CRV with untiring self-denial, struggling with all available means to face the emergency and save the infected. Commended during the first lockdown, today they seem to have stepped out of the media narrative: we want to bring attention back to them in our own way, telling how our sector gives its contribution to their business, providing the footwear they wear every day.
Health/medical footwear is identified by the iconic white colour (but they can also be found in green, blue, black ...). Those used by doctors, nurses and health workers must be autoclavable, that is sterilisable with saturated steam at high pressure (which eliminates any microorganism, be it pathogenic or not, in the vegetative or spore phase), and are made of plastic material. For professional footwear in the health sector, outside of medical aids, also materials like leather and Eva are used. Sanitation and the search for comfort are primary aspects for this type of footwear, to ensure the safety and banishment of operators who stand up all day. […]
Among the players in the healthcare/medical sector, Calzuro is the representative of the made in Italy appreciated all over the world, so much that the New York Magazine called it “the best health footwear of 2020”: here in the margin of the article, find our exclusive interview with Roberta Bidoia, owner of Bihos Sas for the brand's footwear. […] They mainly operate on the market through tenders with hospitals, retirement homes and other health facilities, plus direct channels, both B2B and B2C, brick & mortar sales and e-commerce, both direct and on platforms such as Amazon and Ebay (where however, operators buy brands they already know, after checking their comfort). For foreign countries in general, we rely on distributors.
In the year of the pandemic, the sector - like many others, after all – found itself facing the challenge caused by the interruption of the supply chain which, on the one hand, made it more difficult to find raw materials, and on the other, for those who produce abroad (especially in China), guarantee continuity tried by national lockdowns. Despite this, in 2020 the market trend
did not experience major declines: at a national level, the producers and retailers of this type of product did, however, not experience serious declines, despite the fact that hospitals in tenders focused more on request for masks and respirators. Thanks to their quality product, some have actually increased sales by also exploiting the higher performances of the online channel, both
on the national market as well as abroad. […]

CALZURO: A STORY OF QUALITY AND PASSION FOR HEALTH FOOTWEAR

The New York Magazine called it “the best health footwear of 2020”: Calzuro was created by a Venetian family company that focused exlusively on product quality and Italian character. We talk about it with Roberta Bidioia, owner of Bihos Sas for Calzuro’s sanitary clogs.
The credit for the statement of the New York Magazine goes to the founder Gianfranco Bidoia who in 1983, thanks to his father’s experience in the field of hospital supplies, launched a product into the market that was missing in the health sector, a clog in plastic material that could be sterilised in an autoclave, anstistatic and extremely comfortable for those who have to stand many hours
on their feet.
Mrs Bidoia, how was the Calzuro clog created?
“My father knew a mould maker from our Montebelluna district who worked for ski boots, and with him he developed a mould for plastic materials for health footwear. He started from there. Then he found a local company that helped him develop a thermoplastic polymer with excellent features: high resistance to temperatures, stabilised in an autoclave at 134°, ideal for the operating room. It guarantees rapid steam sterilisation, sanitation that makes it available for use in a short time. Since then we have been working in compliance with the regulations relating to sanitary PPE, with certified materials. Our products guarantee elasticity, high wear resistance and softness. They are antistatic, thanks to a substance that allows the discharge of electrostatic energy, a feature that is not obvious in this type of footwear. We also produce in Eva, which is a lighter material, but it does not withstand high temperatures”.
What are your sales channels and markets?
“From a commercial point of view, we work on tenders with hospital suppliers, direct sales through private distributors, foreign distributors, agents and representatives for health shops, pharmacies, orthopedists. We also have a Horeca division (hotels, restaurants and catering), we serve beauty and wellness, cleaning companies, kindergartens, etc. professionals looking for comfortable, washable and non-slip, anatomic and postural footwear (with foot massage). The online channel is very important, in 2008 we opened B2C calzuro.it for Italy and Europe: we were among the forerunners in our sector. Moreover we also distribute through platforms such as Amazon and Ebay, through the e-commerce of our customers and distributors. We also have a B2B site for our customers. We try to adopt a correct commercial policy, with even higher prices compared
to those offered by our customers, in order not to compete and make consumers
perceive that ours is a quality product. As for the markets, 60% of our production is directed abroad (Europe and the USA, but not only), direct and indirect online carves out a 10% share of the turnover, there are markets like the USA that basically sell almost everything online”.
How important is sustainability for Calzuro?
“Calzuro classic, our flagship product, is recyclable and does not pollute if disposed of correctly: in fact, defective clogs are regrinded and put back into production for the black coloured lines”.
How did you face the pandemic?
“We overworked in 2020: we made agreements with our suppliers with whom we work closely - contractors in the Montebelluna district and one in the Marche region - and we made them work without interruption despite the health emergency. In this way we were able to urgently supply the hospitals that worked on the front line: at the Codogno hospital, during the first phase of the lockdown we gave clogs to health care workers, to offer them moral and physical support. The challenge of the pandemic has arisen on the material side: the supply chain disruption has decreased availability, China has stocked up on raw materials, and consequently also costs have increased. Luckily we were able to guarantee our stocks and always with high quality and certified
raw materials”.
What are the features of Calzuro footwear?
“The product is developed in agreement with orthopedists and podiatrists, subjected to chemical and physical-mechanical analyses, and certified to offer the customer assurance in terms of safety, quality, protection and even aesthetics thanks to carefully designed lines and a wide range of colours, customizable upon customer request. It guarantees posture, is autoclavable and so comfortable that it can be worn with a sock, but you can also add insoles, it is non-slip and antistatic. Made with non-toxic materials that comply with the Reach regulation, certified, it is made to last, even up to 5 years. The quality and aesthetics of the Calzuro product translate into a range that includes: classic clog in autoclave, light in Eva for wards, clog in wood/leather, flip-flops, autoclavable slippers, walking and safety slippers with antistatic Eva composite toecap for the
cleaning and warehouse sector with rear strap (this is what also our warehouse workers use): we tested it directly and it guarantees maximum anti-crushing and is impact-resistant”.
 
What is your vision for the future of the industry?
“I hope that after the emergency people have understood and become aware of the importance of buying Italian, to give work to Italian companies and people. We have withstood the brunt of the pandemic and we hope that virtuous companies like ours, which focus on Made in Italy, can establish themselves on the market, that the awareness is generated that, by spending a little more, you get a quality product (not by chance, after trying other cheaper products, often customers come back to us), with an interlocutor who guarantees his product. This is part of our DNA: customer focus, which is why we have a WhatsApp communication channel that meets the needs of consumers, and an open B2C channel for our customers and partners. These days it is custom to create a human relationship with the customer, both in the physical store and online:
we have always done this. A true love and passion for our work are the secrets
behind all this”.
  
Here below the link to the original article:
https://safety-magazine.com/at-the-feet-of-our-heroes/