Zoolidays

National Flip Flop Day

It’s National Flip Flop Day!

Just about everyone owns a pair of these comfortable sandals, which are commonly worn during warmer weather to places like the lake, at swimming pools, on the beach and pretty much anywhere you can think of. They come in all sorts of colors and can even come with extra design elements like beads, jewels, tassels and more.

What most people don’t realize about these comfy shoes is that flip flops are causing a bizarre and yet very real phenomenon. Thousands and thousands of flipflops are constantly washed up onto the East African coast creating an environmental disaster. Not only spoiling the natural beauty of our beaches and oceans, the rubber soles are swallowed & suffocated on by fish & other animals, they obstruct turtle hatchlings from reaching the sea and are a man-made menace to our fragile ecosystems.

Passionate about the ocean, its ecosystems and marine wildlife, Ocean Sole recycles flipflops that are found littered on beaches and in waterways of Kenya. Every single Ocean Sole product is handcrafted to protect the oceans and teach the world about the threats of marine debris.

This company’s creative team of artisans transforms the discarded flipflops into elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos, dolphins, sharks, turtles and more. These colorful masterpieces come with an important message about marine conservation whilst bringing smiles to people all over the world.

The Virginia Zoo has partnered with Ocean Sole since 2015 and was the first zoo in the country to sell the art. The Zoo has several sizes of elephants, giraffes, warthogs, rhinos, lions, hippos and zebras, which are available in the Zoo Gift Shop. There are also other unique pieces such as animal busts, door stops and bracelets in the Zoo’s flip flop collection.

Celebrate the art of flip flops by contributing to conservation and taking home your very own Ocean Sole creation made of recycled flip flops from the Gift Shop today!