Veggie Leather, Organic Cotton and Tire Sole Sandals from Ethiopian Fair-Trade Collective soleRebels
Roam if you want to, roam around the world. You might just find yourself virtually stopping in Ethiopia to pick up a pair of these limited-edition Roam LuXe sandals by superstar Fair Trade collective soleRebels.
Super comfy and flat-out fashionable (come on, we can’t always wear heels), these shoes are artisan-crafted from eco-leather with traditional hand-loomed, organic cotton accents and recycled-tire soles, and were designed exclusively for EcoStiletto readers. That’s right, you can’t buy them, but this month you can win one of seven pairs of these sandals, which normally retail for $64.95.
SoleRebels, founded in 2004 by Ethiopian entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, has been racking up accolades as the first International-Fair-Trade-Foundation (IFAT)-certified footwear company in the world. Alemu made it her goal to provide jobs and income for impoverished workers in the Zenabwork community, a historical village located 15 minutes from Addis Ababa. The idea was to reinterpret the traditional selate and barabasso shoes that Ethiopians had made for generations using recycled tire soles. Today, her company sustains 40 full-time and 100 part-time workers with its production of shoes that are green by tradition—not for marketing reasons.
Ethiopia has the largest population of livestock in all of Africa—some 40 million people raise goats, sheep and cows in the traditional free-range manner. These animals provide food and income and are key in helping to lift the population from extreme poverty. The vegetable-tanned leather used in soleRebels footwear is locally sourced, as is the organic cotton that’s loomed and vegetable-dyed to create traditional fabrics integral to the designs (vegans take note: soleRebels also makes an animal-free b*kind line). And the recycled tire soles? As Alemu says, “Here in Ethiopia recycling things is a way of life; in fact we’ve been recycling for years without ever calling it recycling. When you have limited resources, everything is valued and valuable, everything has a purpose even if not the original purpose it was intended for.”
Find soleRebels shoes on www.endless.com, where the Roam LuXe style will be available after June 1st.
