To Whom it May Concern:
When I started this petition 78 days ago, I never realized the full scope of what it would mean when things began to change. This petition would impact so many lives for the better. Shoe manufacturers have profiteered from people with different sized feet and amputees for decades.
It wasn’t until I started this petition that I realized just how common this issue was. It has been estimated that 60 percent of the world’s population has different sized feet. In addition to that, a study done by the Sage Journal, written in December 2020, estimates that in the year 2017, people with amputated limbs added up to 57.7 million people to that number worldwide. It is four years later, and I can only imagine that number has grown. Among those people are members of our armed forces, men and women who have given everything not just for the betterment of our country, but the world as a whole. If there is anyone that does not deserve to pay double for something as essential as shoes, it’s them.
I’m petitioning the shoe manufacturers to set up a split buying system online that would allow for the purchaser to spend only as much as necessary. As it currently stands, people with different sized feet have to spend twice as much, buying two pairs of shoes instead of one to compensate for each individual size. Amputees are at a financial disadvantage as well because they only need the one shoe, but are forced to pay for both. With a split buying system in place, shoe manufacturers could charge by the shoe, allowing people to pay for only what they need and nothing more.
The people who deal with this have no choice in the matter. They have been put in this situation because of genetics, injuries, or sickness. They deserve better than to be punished for something they had no control over. Shoes are a necessity and to treat people with so little regard is abhorrently wrong. In 2021, this should not be an issue, and I believe with some effort, it won’t be for much longer.
Danielle Joy Mitchell
August 19, 2021
Petition Link: www.change.org/twoshoesizes
Current signature count:
13,895
Citations:
Global prevalence of traumatic non-fatal limb amputation - Cody L McDonald, Sarah Westcott-McCoy, Marcia R Weaver, Juanita Haagsma, Deborah Kartin, 2020
Cody L McDonald