Shopping for spring sandals? Strap on a classic, stylish pair from soleRebels, a shoe company that’s merging eco-friendly fashion with fair trade business.
Would-be ethical consumers in the U.S. like to support green-minded companies with a mission to help less privileged countries — whether it’s through fair trade, community projects, or charitable donations. Many of those do-gooder companies are led by American entrepreneurs; less common are similar companies led by entrepreneurs in those so-called third world countries. SoleRebels is one of the latter, founded by an Ethiopian entrepreneur called Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu — along with her husband and brother — to create jobs in their village Zenabwork in in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
And soleRebel’s cute shoes are making big strides into the American and European markets! These eco-friendly kicks are made by local artisans in Ethiopia who upcycle used car tires and vintage camouflage fabrics, handloom organic cotton fabrics, and prepare greener shoe leathers through an artisan process and vegetable tanning — all to create fashion-friendly styles designed after traditional Ethiopian footwear.
soleRebels is a brand of Bostex, which stands for “By Our-selves Textiles,” emphasizing the company’s commitment to preserving traditional heritage and creating its own economic successes. Bostex is the first registered Ethiopian member of the World Fair Trade Organization, and is committed to fair trade practices like sustainable production, healthy working conditions, and better wages for workers.
Though purchasing directly through soleRebel’s website‘s cumbersome, American shoppers can browse and buy with soleRebel shoes with ease at Endless and Amazon. Some Urban Outfitters and Whole Foods also carry soleRebel designs. Prices range from about $15 for some slip-ons and flipflops to $60 for sturdy lace-up sneakers.
Photos via SoleRebels
Wow! It doesn’t get much better than both eco-friendly and fair trade. Thank you for sharing this Siel. These shoes are awesome.
Comment by Scott Williams — March 12, 2010 @ 11:00 am
I can personally recommend the Simple brand eco-Sneaks — retail $70 — but they can be had at Ross for …. wait for it … $17! no joke. I think they’re made from all recycled materials — super comfy, and at that price you can wear them without socks in the summer and get them all stinky and not feel too guilty :)
Comment by Scott Gross — March 13, 2010 @ 12:57 am
I would like to buy a pair for my Man friend.
I want to know what sizes them come in?
Do you custom make them?
My partner is a man’s size 14 or 15.
Thank you!
Charity Luv
Comment by Charity Luv Colbert — March 15, 2010 @ 8:34 pm
Charity — Just follow the links to find the size / styles you need.
Comment by Siel — April 14, 2010 @ 10:20 pm
Scott, Simple shoes might be eco-Sneaks but they are far from worker-friendly ones. I visited a factory in China that made Simple shoes and the workers worked 100 hours per week. Often, they had to clock out and go back to work. And all this happened underneath the watchful eye of Decker’s (parent company of Simple) on-site supervisory office. There is a big difference between eco-friendly and worker-friendly.
I’m visiting Sole Rebels factory in a few weeks and I’m excited to see how they’ve accomplished both.
Comment by Kelsey — April 21, 2010 @ 9:19 am
Gosh. Now I feel like a heel. Hopefully the situation with SR is better.
Comment by Scott Gross — April 21, 2010 @ 9:46 am
Scott, Don’t sweat it, man. There are very few options for ethically made shoes. That’s why I’m so excited about SoleRebels.
I’ll keep you posted.
Kelsey´s last blog ..Trapped in the House of Terror
Comment by Kelsey — April 21, 2010 @ 10:18 am
I’ll have to check them out, thanks!
Hedy´s last blog ..Frugal tip: Try the shoemaker to save a shoe
Comment by Hedy — June 7, 2010 @ 8:49 am
Hope you like them. BTW I too am a fan of my local cobbler :)
Comment by Siel — June 19, 2010 @ 2:20 pm
So glad to hear about SoleRebels. I love the fact that they care about fair trade practices. The prices are reasonable, too.
Jen Lau´s last blog ..What Does “Fair-Trade Certified” Mean…and Who Cares
Comment by Jen Lau — December 10, 2010 @ 1:03 pm