Eco-friendly footwear helps a country go from aid to trade

It’s not uncommon these days to find companies investing more in their ad budgets to tout their “green” products than investing that cash in environmentally sound business practices. An Ethiopian company called SoleRebels is bucking this trend by being “green by heritage -- and not because some marketing whiz told us to be.”

SoleRebels was founded in 2004 by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, her husband, and brother. Their idea was to put a unique spin on the traditional Ethiopian shoe called a “barabasso” or “selatel” which uses a recycled tire sole. Facing rampant unemployment in Addis Ababa, the trio wanted to create an place where their neighbors could work and thus move the area from a culture of aid to trade.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu said, "I think the idea of a 'green business' or 'Earth friendly' is a bit of a faddish label that doesn't express the value of who and what we are. Ethiopia is one of the last authentically organic environments in which cotton is grown. Owing to the privations endured here, most small-scale cotton farmers never use anything more complex than animal dung as fertilizer."

Ethiopia’s lack of resources has forced citizens to cherish what they do have and  repurpose, recycle, or create things that are needed. This isn’t following the green fad, this is simply a way of life that has impacted SoleRebel’s practices. They employ 40 full-time and 100 part-time workers that use traditionally zero carbon methods of production. Workers shape old tires into soles and hand-loom organic fabric for each shoe. The shoe leather is processed using vegetable dye, a far less toxic alternative than traditional methods. Each pair of shoes ship with a reusable cotton bag and are boxed in packaging that is made up of recycled shipping containers.

SoleRebels is a great example where green is not just a marketing tool but a way to generate profit. They continue to work with major retailers like Whole  Foods, Urban Outfitters, Amazon.com, and Endless.com. The company projects that their 2010 earnings will be $500,000, a number that is definitely stylish.