This week I came across a fantastic company in Kenya who are turning flip flops into art!! There are some incredible social enterprises around the world that are taking waste and turning it into something spectacular.
Kenya borders the Indian Ocean and has devastating amounts of waste that gets swept to shore on the beaches each morning. Specifically plastic bags, plastic bottles and items including flip flops (or as us Aussies call them, thongs) are huge contributors to ocean pollution. Kenya is taking great steps towards reducing plastic waste, in face in 2017 the use of plastic bags were banned by the government and there is now focus on how to save their coastline from litter.
Ocean Sole's story began in 1998 Kiwayu, Kenya. Since 1998 Ocean Sole has turned into a successful social enterprise by making flip flops into colourful art. Flip flops are collected by the local community, made by local community members and now sold around the world.
Ocean Sole claim they recycle 400,000 flip flops a year, they now employ 50 local artists and they purchase flop flops collected by other local community members. They claim to save 300kg of waste per day!! This is staggering! Next time you go to the beach, make sure you avoid losing your flip flops in the ocean so they don't end up on the shore of Kenya's coastline!
This company is creating great art with a powerful message! I encourage you all to consider how you remove your waste and how small changes can result in less waste in our oceans!