Why the name Johnny?
Who is Johnny and how did the name come about?
It took a long time to develop the biodegradable technology that enables Johnny to house a viable seed. Once we'd finally gotten it there, we had an important question to answer. What kind of tree seed should we use!?
Weeks went by and the lightbulb moment happened: John Chapman! More commonly known as Johnny Appleseed. He's a historical pioneer that planted apple trees all over North America; making his way from Pennsylvania, to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Ontario, as well as the northern counties of West Virginia.
His journey to create an army of apple orchards is truly inspirational. Not only did he plant apple seeds, he created entire nurseries going as far as to build fences to protect the saplings from dangerous livestock.
Johnny Appleseed also cared for animals, just like us! From one account by Henry Howe:
"One cool autumnal night, while lying by his camp-fire in the woods, he observed that the mosquitoes flew in the blaze and were burned. Johnny, who wore on his head a tin utensil which answered both as a cap and a mush pot, filled it with water and quenched the fire, and afterwards remarked, "God forbid that I should build a fire for my comfort, that should be the means of destroying any of His creatures."
Every pair of Johnnies are animal-friendly and only use one animal biproduct. We use a natural beeswax coating to make our shoes water-resistant and this wax is collected without harming the insects.
Even a brief look at John Chapman's life shows us he's an aspirational figure who did a lot of good for the world. We're looking to continue his legacy by planting as many apple trees as he did, if not more. Every pair of Johnnies comes with a tree seed in each sole and we'll also plant a tree on your behalf for every shoe sold.
Great people like John Chapman make for awesome and impactful stories. What's more important are their ideas; great ideas have the potential to change the world.
