No, not the rainbows from the Wizard of Oz, or the gay ones either (though we love those too) – this love ballad is for Rainbow Sandals. A friend emailed today to ask our advice on what ’sustainable’ sandals to buy to replace the ones the tore through this summer. We forwarded over some links like this one and this one, but all in all, if you want sustainable sandals, ones that will LAST FOREVER and that you won’t have to replace every season (maybe never have to replace throughout your entire life, depending upon how attached you are to them) – Rainbows are truly your only bet.
OK, they’re not vegan. But from a carbon standpoint, though leather has a bigger carbon footprint than synthetic sandals, buying a new pair of synthetic sandals every 6 months has a WAY bigger footprint than buying one pair, and wearing them till they’re embarrasing. Eco fashion is so much more than just made-of-hemp – though they have those too.
Rainbows has a really sweet backstory filled with surfer-dude-isms – they’re made to last by a real surfer who takes great care to preserve the culture they’re made for. Founder Ray Longley was inspired to create Rainbows by seeing a discarded flip flop on his pristine beach. They’re 100% guaranteed for the life of the sole – that means if the thong pops out they’ll replace them (never seen it happen though.)
The really interesting thing about Rainbows is that, if you’re from California, you live and die by these shoes – but they’re little known in the East Coast…and they should be!
Please chime in if you love Rainbows: we’d love to hear about the wear and tear that you put your pair through.
August 19, 2009 at 9:12 pm
in some places flip flops are part of economic development?!
September 11, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I have some hemp rainbows that have lasted forever! So there is an eco-friendly vegan option in summer footwear. Rainbow sandals are pretty much indestructible.