Spotlight - Ocean Sole

I'm recently joined this fun Facebook group that shows off interesting thrift store finds, and was amazed to see a colorful lion (like the ones pictured below!) that the owner described as being made from "some type of foam". I recognized the lion from some cool videos I had seen last year and did a quick search to see if I could learn more.

The company is called Ocean Sole, and believe it or not, these colorful creations are made out of flip-flops! Ocean Sole was founded by Julie Church, who noticed children making toys out of washed up flip-flops on the beach, and recognized the potential for families to make income from the sandals, while also having a positive environmental impact.

Ocean Sole is providing:

• full time income to 100 Kenyans
• some income for 1000 Kenyans
• education initiatives benefiting 10,000 
• recycling of 750,000 flip-flops

The sandals are collected, washed, melded together, then hand-carved, sanded, and finished. Check out this short video on the process:

I'm just loving how creative these creatures are, and they seem like a fun gift for the animal lover or conservationist in your life. The small sculptures average about 6" in the largest dimension and $23-29, and the medium are about 11" and $42-49. (Feeling bold and have a large space? The XL giraffe is 54" tall and $675!)

For more information, or to support them, check out the original website here, or the US shopping site here.