Odor-Eaters is an American brand of foot-care products designed to reduce

foot odor Foot odor (also spelled foot odour) or bromodosis is a type of body odor that affects the foot, feet of humans. It is sometimes considered to be an unpleasant smell, but can also be the target of foot fetishism, more specifically as a form of ...

. The line started with

insoles A removable shoe insert, otherwise known as a foot orthosis, insole or inner sole accomplishes many purposes, including daily wear comfort, height enhancement, plantar fasciitis treatment, arch support, foot and joint pain relief from arthritis, ...

that are made of

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

and contain

activated carbon Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It is processed (activated) to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area avail ...

, which neutralizes

odor An odor (American English) or odour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds ...

s. , the brand is owned by Blistex Inc.

History

Odor-Eaters is an American brand of foot-care products designed to reduce

. Herbert Lapidus invented the namesake

while employed as

Combe Incorporated Combe Incorporated, based in White Plains, New York, is an American personal-care company founded in 1949 by Ivan Combe. Combe products are sold in 64 countries on six continents. Ivan Combe primarily promoted the brand names instead of the comp ...

's head of a research and development. The insoles are made of

and contain

, which neutralizes

s. Combe already marketed Johnson's Foot Soap, so it introduced the product under the Johnson's brand in 1974. Combe extended the brand beyond insoles to include odor-reducing foot sprays. Includes bibliography. In 1981, Combe licensed Chipman-Union to manufacture

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

s under the Odor-Eaters brand name. The socks contained an odor inhibiting agent that withstood laundering.

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

carried the socks. Production of the socks ended in 2011. In January 2011, Combe sold its foot care product line to Blistex Inc.

Sponsorship

In 1988, Combe took over sponsorship of a national Rotten Sneakers Contest to promote its Odor-Eaters brand. A Vermont sporting goods store owner originated the event in 1979 to advertise athletic shoes. Blistex continues to market the Odor-Eaters products and to sponsor the Rotten Sneakers Contest.

Notes

External links

Odor Eaters Website
Combe Incorporated brands Footwear accessories {{product-stub