Sandal World + soleRebels
A Partnership Doing Good Globally

At Sandal World we're full of enthusiasm regarding the new partnership with soleRebels and the opportunity to present the quality and style of this new sandal line to our customers. Aside from the fashion and comfort of soleRebels sandals, we believe our customers will find the story behind soleRebels compelling. For our Sandal World clientele, supporting their fellow citizens of the World through "Trade not Aid" and consuming a product produced with a zero carbon imprint and eco-friendly materials will make each step taken in their soleRebels all that more sweet.

Raising Ethiopia up one sole at a time through Trade not Aid.
soleRebels, located in Zenabwork, a small village in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia the first fully IFAT/SFTO certified Fair Trade footwear exporter in Ethiopia.

Trade not Aid
Since 2004 140 jobs in Zenabwork have been created by soleRebels. This has also sparked much growth for their local suppliers.

IFAT/WTFO Accredited Practices - IFAT/WFTO is the only entity certifying Fair Trade Practices and soleRebels is the only footwear company in Ethiopia with this accreditation. While many companies claim to be fair trade firms, they have not gone through the rigoorous auditing like soleRebels to become IFAT/WTFO accredited.

What Does Fair Trade Mean to the Purchaser of the Product?
Being truly Fair Trade certified means that you are purchasing the product directly from the maker of the product. There is no corruption or bribes being taken from supposed middlemen as the product makes its way to the American market. When you purchase a soleRebels product you are purchasing it directly from soleRebels in the little community of Zenabwork in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ecological Materials
soleRebels products are handcrafted, recycled and made from sustainable materials. Many are hand spun and hand loomed organic fabrics such as cotton. Abyssinian hemp and pure Abyssinian Koba are natural natural fibers found locally and unique to soleRebels products.

Zero Carbon Production Process
When you have limited resources, everything is valued and valuable. Recycling for the residents of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia is a way of life. soleRebels uses those materials that would otherwise be sitting in a landfill combined with indigenous natural and organic materials using hand made labor. soleRebels brings to industrial nations products with a true zero carbon imprint.

Pride & Respect from Honest and Fair Work
Dearth of work in the community of Zenabwork prior to the founding of soleRebels. Now the workers of soleRebels earn proud wages that are about 233% higher than most workers in their region.

Eco-Ethical Brand
soleRebels, leveraging their unique heritage with an entrepreneurial spirit, achieve an important FIRST for a developing country like Ethiopia - a feat which holds the seeds of a greater shared prosperity for their community and a template for other underdeveloped countries.

The promise: For each and every soleRebel worker is the right to organize and bargain collectively. soleRebels workers are proud their constitution in Ethiopia protects the right of collective bargaining for most workers and all of their workers. The employees of soleRebels are proud to exercise this fight freely.

soleRebels Origin + History
Founded in 2004 by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, her husband and her brother, soleRebels began as an idea that the creation of shoes from indigenous products could be the source for inspiration and hope for a community with so little. The motto at soleRebels is: "Making the world a better place... one step at a time." And they began first within their own community.

soleRebels is the brand of Bostex plc, the first registered Ethiopian member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). Bostex stands for “By Our Selves Textiles”- a nod to the fact that the company makes most of its products by hand. “In Ethiopia, a historic and vital shift away from aid and towards trade is underway” says Tilahun Alemu, “ and a critical push to control own destiny by exporting higher value finished goods instead of low value commodity exports.”

soleRebel's success comes from re-imagining the “selate” and “barabasso,” traditional recycled tire sole shoes found in Ethiopia for generations. At soleRebels, recycled tire soles are combined by hand with recycled and sustainable materials, such as hand- spun, hand-loomed organic fabrics, vintage camouflage fabrics (redeployed into peaceful use!), revived canvas, and natural fibers. They also use many traditional Ethiopian products, like heritage cotton, from small scale cotton farmers. This commitment means that traditional Ethiopian artisan crafts are preserved and promoted while small farmers can continue growing a historic crop in the traditionally organic manner they have employed for centuries.

Less than four years ago, there were hardly any jobs in the founders’ community. Now, soleRebels provides 40+ people with full-time dignified work and a further 100 with part-time jobs.

Looking forward, the company wants to expand in order to generate even more jobs for their community. Alemu sees current growth as just the beginning. “We founded this company to bring opportunities to some of the most marginalized citizens in our nation -- people who coincidentally happen to be our neighbors and relatives. In addition, we are helping to preserve local culture, giving citizens a sense of pride, while bringing amazing footwear to our customers worldwide!”

In the end, through, Tilahun Alemu believes it comes down to the quality of the product. “Stepping into a soleRebel is truly a treat – its like slipping your foot into your softest socks. If your feet don’t jump up and kiss you in a fit of comfort induced joy, we’ll refund your money. it’s THAT comfy! ” Tilahun Alemu explains with a laugh.

What's Behind the Name, soleRebels?
The chance to become self sufficient and independent! The chance to find hope and to dream. Crafting innovative footwear from that which the community recycled or from their indigenous plants and fibers made them each a soleRebel. To defy their odds and to lift themselves up earned them their moniker: soleRebels.

An Ethnic, Multicultural Trend in Fashion :: What Others are Saying

From the LA Times:

Go Global with Multicultural Styles and Accessories

From the Kirk McKoy, LA Times fashion section: "Earthy and extremely lightweight for summer packing, the shoes are also eco-friendly and help provide employment for the villagers of Zenabwork, Ethhiopia, who make each pair by hand.

From Melissa Magsaysay, Los Angeles Times Staff writer:
"On the spring/summer runways, it is common to see designers weaving in touches of globe-trotting glamour. But for an unfiltered take on the multicultural trend, you might wantt to look beyond the interpretations, beautiful as they are, and go straight to the source for accessories that add a down-to-earth appeal that looks organic and effortless.

From the Huffington Post's Summer Rayne Oakes:

The Top 10 Coolest African Fair-Trade Fashions

soleRebels is #1 on This List

"One of the best parts of working in Africa is learning about all the amazing community sustainable development-design projects cropping up over the continent. Often fueled by the passion of one or two unrelenting entrepreneurs in the face of many challenges (i.e. civil unrest, scalability, export hurdles, disease, natural disasters, training/education, etc.), these standout programs have begun to permeate our cultural swerve."