elephant journal

Simple’s Flip Flops for Eco Men.

by Waylon Lewis, elephantjournal.com on Jul 12, 2009

We’ve already reviewed Simple’s women’s flip flops. Here’s the specs, from Simple Shoes’ site, on my new comfy men’s Gumbo “eco-friendly” flip flops:

• Vegan and veggie friendly; contains no animal product or byproduct
• Certified 100% organic cotton uppers
• Midsoles made of carpet padding for at-home comfort at all times
• Thanks to a lot of stitching, this shoe’s made with less than a thimble of water-based adhesives – most shoes use 2 shot glasses worth of glue
• Recycled car tire and natural rubber with jute outsoles
• Ships to you in our fantastic biodegradable bags… dig it, bury it, buh-bye
• Member of the men’s Green Toe™ collection & part of the Best category

Not sure if the carpet padding is reused? If it is, that’s super cool and I’m a’gonna tell everyone in every bar and swimming pool I ever find myself in.

Not sure if the dye in the organic cotton uppers is non-toxic, natural, or the bad stuff that slowly poisons our waterways?

Love the lack of glue used. Love the soles—recycled car tire, whut? The design of the soles, evocative of car tires, is cool too though a little slippery when went.

Love the biodegradable bags they’re shipped in.

Overall, love ‘em. Give ‘em an A not only for effort, but execution. Don’t love that they’re made in China, but we’ve gone over how most companies, even Prana, TOMS, Nau and Patagonia (some of our favorite green-minded walk the talk apparel co’s) feel it’s necessary to make stuff halfway across the world in South America or Asia, in more-or-less supervised factories…it’s far from being a bad thing, but far from being ideal. In any case, the more transparent the better.

Conclusion, when all’s flipped and flopped? The basic fact of the matter is, you want to wear a mindfully-sourced, stylish, comfy flip flop that’ll last? This is the best I’ve found.