The shoes' original home was Boulder, Colo. The early
Crocs customer was probably a Pacific Northwesterner who liked to
boat or garden-this was a niche shoe, after all. He or she was
drawn in by the "no slip" grip on the sole, by the aerating holes,
and by the featherweight heft of the thing (a pair weighs a mere 6
ounces). The clunky look was not a drawback (this is the region,
after all, that brought us grunge), and many customers were pleased
that the shoe was made of a proprietary nonplastic resin formula
(known as Croslite)-it was, as one testified, "vegan." Because the
material is soft, bacteria-resistant, and has a strangely "natural"
feel, the Croc fits in with the Northwest's typically green and
mildly counterculture ethos.