Ocean Sole is a Kenyan social enterprise doing amazing work by turning discarded flip-flops collected from the Kenyan Indian Ocean and its coastline into incredible art. The enterprise was created with a purposeful mission. Which is to support the arts, and enterprises which tackle marine pollution and help improve the livelihoods in high-impact coastal areas.
The enterprise positively impacts over 1,000 Kenyans through the collection of flip-flops and direct employment. This makes a difference to the plight of our oceans. Their aim is to give back what they earn to change the lives of many through employment, education, healthcare, skill training, and meals.
The company has collected over 10 million sandals from beaches, streets, and landfills. The fact that flip-flops are cheap, and not as durable makes it easy for people to dispose of them anyhow. In fact, in some parts of the world flip-flops make up a quarter of ocean plastic.
We all know that flip-flops are one of the oldest sandal styles dating back thousands of years. As plastic became cheaper towards the end of the 20th century, flip-flop sandals took over. Today, companies make over a billion sandals every year. After a while, they end up in landfills and waterways, especially the ocean.
What does Ocean sole do?
Ocean Sole sculptors make art that raises awareness for marine and wildlife conservation efforts. They use campaigns to donate to conservation organizations. They curve hippos, giraffes, whales, birds, and more.
Firstly, the sandals go through a thorough hand-wash using water and detergent and are later dried under the sun. Afterward, the workers pick and die-cut the flip-flops into templates. They use nontoxic glue to bind the templates together.
The enterprise has around 90 employees, who have previously worked in wood carving. They find working with rubber similar to curving on wood as the knives and sanding tools are the same. All work is done by hand thus, completing a larger piece can take a month. The carving includes marine animals and safari-inspired carvings such as elephants and giraffes, which are the best sellers.
A third of the pieces are sold to shops, museums, aquariums, and zoos around the world. You can find the pieces in gift shops around Nairobi or in a store in Northeast Florida.
Making wildlife art not killing wildlife.
Over the last few years, the vulnerable and endangered species list has increased rapidly year on year due to the deterioration of the Earth’s health by many factors: climate change, pollution, human intervention, illegal poaching, and habitat loss due to population growth. It is time to act!
Ocean Sole came up with The SoleMate Project campaign. Through the project, they designed 200 flip-flop large-size replicas of the Earth’s vulnerable and endangered species and place them in different locations around the world.
The vision for The SoleMate Project is to create art that can be showcased in lobbies, airport corridors, zoos, hospitals, public parks, and other unique locations around the world both to raise awareness and solicit critically needed funds for conservation efforts. This aspirational and achievable goal can only succeed with partners who believe in the mission.
What you can do
The only possibility is to support existing projects or to become active yourself – for example, you can support the Ocean sole campaigns by buying a curving or donating. Visit their website for more information at Ocean Sole
In addition, you can rethink your own consumption behavior. Nowadays we have a handful of environmentally friendly alternatives for many everyday plastic products. Whether it’s a jute bag instead of a plastic bag for grocery shopping, a reusable water bottle instead of disposable water bottles, or a biodegradable toothbrush made of bamboo instead of a plastic one – be aware and inform yourself on how you can reduce your own plastic consumption. For the sake of our environment.