Kinoki Foot Pad Scam
People are Not Like Trees!
“Ancient Chinese secret,” mr. Lee said secretively. His wife let us in on the secret as she washed clothes in the back room in that classic Calgon commercial. But those hokey Kinoki Foot Pads — advertised on TV, radio and in catalogs, even copied by other companies including AVON — are claimed to originate from an ancient Japanese secret, and detoxify your body, reviving you, boosting your energy and improving the quality of your life. The real secret is, it’s all nonsense!
I was watching 20/20 earlier and they had a nice in depth look at these miracle detoxification pads. A group of subjects used the pads and reported their results. Most noticed no change in how they felt. Also, during subsequent applications with fresh pads the subjects noticed no lightening of color as it is stated in the advertisement.
It is claimed that these special pads remove toxins from your body through your feet! The commercial for the Kinoki pads even uses a comparison between trees and people. They claim that since trees can rid themselves of toxins through the roots people do the same through the soles of their feet.
Let’s just take a step back for a moment. First, the obvious: people aren’t trees! No root system, no bark, no leaves. Not even close. We do not function in the same way. The comparison cannot be made.
Next false claim: Trees rid themselves of toxins through their roots. WRONG! Tree roots actually draw moisture UP into the tree from the ground. Depending on the type of tree these roots can go very deep and spread very far in search of water and nutrients in the soil. If there happens to be a toxin in the soil, guess what, the tree will suck it up with the water and get sick, maybe even die. So, trees DO NOT rid themselves of toxins through their roots. It’s amazing these people can sell a product (even a bogus one), they obviously have no understanding of elementary science.
20/20 had the used pads tested for various toxins and found nothing. Zip. Nada. The journalist learned that the pads contain vinegar and wood and an application of distilled water caused them to discolor in the same way as they did when applied to the bottom of a foot.
Conclusion: moisture from the foot causes material present in the pad to discolor. There are no toxins being removed from the body. The product does not work. It is, what one would call, a scam. How can they get away with it? You may ask. There is no law against selling a product in the United States as long as it does not cause harm to the consumer. Well, if you ask me, companies like this DO harm the consumer. This is tantamount to robbery! Taking advantage of a gullible public should be punnishable by law. It’s high time our Government started cracking down on rip offs like these!
So how do these companies rip off consumers like this? If we’re not asking from a moral perspective, and we’d literally like to know how they do it, it’s because consumers are easy to rip off. These companies sell the crap because people buy the crap!
We want an easy remedy for our malaise, a reason to not visit the doctor. We want to feel better, and funnily enough we want to feel better even if we don’t feel that bad in the first place. We need positive reinforcement. Want to feel better? Exercise, eat healthier, drink more water, less soda, and smile!
The foot pads are a scam. Don’t waste your money, and don’t believe everything you hear on a TV commercial or read in a magazine ad. Do your own homework and DON’T LET YOURSELF BE FOOLED!
Ancient Japanese Secret, huh? My Foot.
