Ocean Sole is a Kenyan recycling company that's crafting whimsical pieces of art and fashion from discarded flip-flops and other plastic junk -- piles of rubbish that wash up on Kenya's sandy beaches.
Inside its Nairobi-based workshop, reclaimed old sandals and other polluting pieces of rubber are fashioned into handmade animal toys, eye-popping curtains, intricate necklaces and even life-size sculptures. The playful creations are sold locally as well as in dozens of zoos, aquariums and stores in some 20 countries across the wold.
"It's a trade-based solution to the global problem of marine pollution," says Julie Church, the co-founder of Ocean Sole. "It gets people to think about the ocean and links them to waterways -- and we're doing it through business."
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In 2008, an 18-foot giraffe named Twiga was shipped to Rome, Italy, to be displayed during Fashion Week as part of the International Trade Centre's campaign to raise awareness for ethical fashion.
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The Artist at work
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