Ocean Sole Africa is an elegant solution to the persistent problem of environmental blight, turning ocean trash into unique and colorful works of art. Specifically, the humble and ubiquitous cast-off plastic flip flop.
In just one year, Ocean Soul removed about one million flip flops from the oceans and upcycled them into one-of-a-kind collector pieces, while creating jobs in their community.
Flip flops are the most worn shoe in the world, and wind up in our oceans and landfills in massive numbers. To promote marine conservation and create employment opportunities in communities that need them, Ocean Sole’s has created treasure from trash. Their process scrubs the rescued flip flops, glues them together in colorful layers, and sculpts them into beautiful art and functional products for sale.
Employment is provided to nearly 100 Kenyans and income to 900 others, who scour the ocean shores for flip flops.
The Untours Foundaton is proud to support the social and environmental impact of this wonderful enterprise and look forward to their next phase as they expand beyond Kenya, into other regions of the world that are highly affected by overconsumption of plastic goods.
See their beautiful creations at their website. Help the Untours Foundation support innovative problem solvers like Ocean Sole Africa by making a donation.
Watch the artisans at work in this 8 minute YouTube video.