KarunaNews Video

Along the coasts and the waterways of Kenya, flip-flops can be found littering the beaches. Yet one company is taking those flip-flops and using them to make hippos, giraffes, and whales. Volunteers bring in about 1 ton of flip-flops per week in large white bags and are reimbursed. At Ocean Sole, the incoming flip-flops are washed in detergent and left to dry for a few hours. Artisans then come by to pick them up, where they are sculpted, glued, carved, and sanded into collectible artworks. All the artwork is done entirely by hand by the company's 90 employees. Some works can even take up to 3 months. Unused flip-flop scraps are ground up and upcycled into mattresses.