Ahnu shoes work hard and play hard – just like you.

Walk new ground: This is Ahnu’s core philosophy as a shoe company, and it couldn’t be more fitting. Even their name, “Ahnu,” derives from the goddess of balance and well-being in Celtic mythology, and this is what the brand is all about: Their highly collaborative team works together, plays together, and balances their business goals with social and environmental responsibility. Ahnu is basically one of those dream companies that sounds like it could turn into a pumpkin after midnight.

Founded by Jenny Fredericks and Jacqueline Van Dine, they took their love affair with outdoor activities and combined it with their experience in the industry to create a line of shoes for fashionistas (and fashionmistas, HA) who prefer trails over treadmills. Joined by Jim Van Dine, they combined their passions to create aesthetically pleasing kicks that are equal parts fashion, function and philanthropy.

The ultimate product goal for Ahnu shoes is to achieve uncompromising footwear performance. The company works with leading biomechanists, designers and athletes to create footwear with just the right amount of traction, grip, flexibility and durability for your outdoor activities. Whether you’re a trailblazer, surfer girl, or yoga lover, there’s a shoe for that.

Ahnu even pioneered Numentum Technology, which is a “neutral positioning system engineered to encourage your foot’s natural biomechanics. It is designed to center and guide the foot to promote an efficient, stable and balanced stride.” (As someone who constantly trips over herself, you have no idea how excited I am about this.)

Not only are the fashion-forward (and many are totally vegan) shoes made in the USA, they’re created using some of the toughest factory standards in the industry. And the company’s environmental contributions don’t end with footwear: Ahnu has created a line of ah-mazing yoga gear I can’t wait to splurge on — even the catalogs and packaging are made of certified post-consumer recycled fibers!

Best of all, the more the company grows, the more it partners with like-minded organizations to give back and make a difference in people’s lives. Since founding in 2007, Ahnu has contributed more than $250,000 to charitable organizations such as:

• The Wilderness Land Trust, which focuses on purchasing and preserving wilderness.
• The Breast Cancer Fund, the only national organization focused solely on prevention, to work toward a world where we’ve stopped breast cancer before it starts. The Breast Cancer Fund works to identify and eliminate environmental causes of disease.
• Soles4Souls facilitates donations of shoes to those in need worldwide, and has given away 5.5 million pairs of shoes since 2005.

Long story short, Ahnu is one giant leap for shoes and shoe lovers. (Sorry, I had to.) Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some shopping to do.

Do tell: Which of Ahnu’s shoes have caught your eye?

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Image: Ahnu

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SoulPancake partnered with Darling Magazine to have a series of conversations about some of the issues that women face on a daily basis. This episode discusses women in the workplace. And it is full of great advice from real women–women who have done things in the name of achieving status and power than men would never have to do.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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