Kaufman Footwear was a

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

-based shoe company. It was known for its Sorel brand.

History

The Kaufman Rubber Company was founded by Jacob Kaufman and his son

Alvin Ratz Kaufman Alvin Ratz "A. R." Kaufman (February 11, 1885 – February 1, 1979) was a Canadian industrialist, philanthropist, birth control advocate and eugenicist from Kitchener, Ontario. In 1920 he became president of the Kaufman Rubber Company following ...

in 1908, in Berlin, Ontario - what is now

. It became Kaufman Footwear in 1964. A.R. Kaufman took over as president of the company in 1920, a position he held until 1964, when his son, William H. Kaufman, assumed the role. A. R. Kaufman was a leading Canadian

eugenicist Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetics, genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human Phenotype, phenotypes by ...

who encouraged

sterilization Sterilization may refer to: * Sterilization (microbiology), killing or inactivation of micro-organisms * Soil steam sterilization, a farming technique that sterilizes soil with steam in open fields or greenhouses * Sterilization (medicine) render ...

of his workers. When Kaufman Rubber laid off workers during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Kaufman's proposed solution to their financial woes was sterilization. Kaufman would later take credit for over 1000 male sterilizations performed at Kaufman factories between 1930 and 1969. Kaufman Rubber Co. brands included Foamtread slippers, introduced in 1953; Showertogs, an early use of

PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...

as a clothing material, in 1954; and its Sorel line of winter boots, which was later developed as a utility and fashion winter footwear brand. In 1961 Kaufman purchased L.H. Packard & Co. of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, followed by Prospect Shoes Ltd. of

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

in 1966. Footwear production for the company became centred in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Kaufman also manufactured under the brand names "Oomphies" (women's casual and duty shoes), "Snowbelles" (slush-molded vinyl boots), "Feelings" (women's casual sandals), "The Real Thing" (women's footbed sandals), "Kingtreads" (safety footwear) and "Black Diamond" (industrial footwear and clothing). Kaufman Footwear declared bankruptcy in 2000 and the Sorel trademark was bought by

Columbia Sportswear The Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company that manufactures and distributes outerwear, sportswear, and footwear, as well as headgear, camping equipment, ski apparel, and outerwear accessories. It was founded in 1938 by Paul Lamf ...

References

External links

University of Waterloo Libraries: History of Kaufman Footwear (+Sorel)
Clothing companies of Canada Defunct companies of Ontario Companies based in Kitchener, Ontario Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada Clothing companies established in 1907 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2000 1907 establishments in Ontario 2000 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1907 History of Kitchener, Ontario History of manufacturing in Ontario Industrial history of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo {{Canada-company-stub