Indosole Blog & News

Paradise LOST? Everyday we are fortunate to wake up on the beautiful island paradise of Bali.  Bali has always been a land of contrast.  Shallow ocean reef and endless terraced rice fields; Ancient culture and new development; Forested volcanic mountains and hipster coffee shops. The beauty is being drastically contrasted by the ever growing trash problem affecting us globally and now locally on our beautiful island. Every time we buy plastics we adhere to the systems corporations have established as our now normal. Big Players like Coca Cola produce 200,000 bottles per minute and 3 million tons of virgin plastic every year. This past Saturday, Feb 15th we came together to try and do something about it. A collective of 12,500 Women, Men, Children; locals, expats, business owners and tourists; coming together in 115 locations to collect over 20,000kg of waste in one day. For the past 4 years in a row, Bali’s Biggest Beach Clean-up has been lead by: One Island One Voice, Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Liina Klaus, Potato Head and Indosole for a truly localized global initiative. We spent our morning at the beach with Liina Klauss, an artist, environmentalist and a true Good Human. She has made it her life’s work to try and shed some light on what is happening on the beautiful island she now calls home. “I’m only making this horror look good so that you pay attention. Plastic in its single-use cannot be justified. Not with a rainbow, not with ignorance, not with convenience, money or time. We must not avert our gaze any longer. We need to stop the flow at the source. It is the only way and the time is now or never.” - Liina Klauss   That morning at our beach alone, our group of 32 Ocean heroes collected: 1200 flip flops 240 toothpaste containers and brushes 330 styrofoam pieces 400 plastic straws 37 PET bottles 310 plastic spoons and forks There is still lots of work to do to change industry, policy and way of life but these significant gatherings of people are moments to celebrate. Paradise not Lost, just a bit hidden.    We will do our best to get you back. #balisbiggestcleanup, #oneislandonevoice, #byebyeplasticbags, #potatoheadbali, #greenschool, #tidakplastikdibali, #liinaklauss, #indosole

One Island One Voice / Satu Pulau Satu Suara organizes BALI'S BIGGEST CLEAN-UP February 24th 2018 On February 24th the island came together for a truly amazing event in Bali’s history. Lead by local heroes, Isabel and Melati and the Bye Bye Plastic Bags org. Coordinated a deep crew of locals and ex-pats young and old who mobilized to clean surface waste from local beaches and villages. From our perspective here at Indosole, we are so happy to be a part of this development. We have been living in Canggu since 2009 and witnessed a trash problem in Bali well before then. For years, there have been very few people making effort to address the problem. We have chipped in what we can, but it has never been enough to make a big impact. We are thankful of the effort and execution by the Bye Bye Plastic Bags crew / One Island One Voice and now looking forward to having us collectively focus on the solutions that are being made vs. the problems that are so obvious in Indonesia.  We have a long way to go but together we can make a difference every day.  Here are the stats on Bali’s biggest clean-up 2018: 15,000+ people 60 locations island wide 50+ tons of waste collected WHERE DID THE TRASH GO? Eco Bali Recycle Station Merah Putih Hijau Role Foundation Depo Cemara Kembali - Bank Sampah Temesi Recycling DLHK Rumah Kompos Padang Tegal                                         

Being located in Indonesia and Northern California, we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of worlds most beautiful cultures and climates. With Indonesia’s booming influx of tourism, as well as an outdated awareness of waste reduction, the amount of litter and lack of reusable resources/recycling, the quick deterioration of its beauty is easily apparent.   In light of #WorldEnvironmentDay2017 theme: “Connecting people to nature”, we challenge you to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish the places you love. As the landscape and people of Bali has captivated us so much that we set out to save 1 million tires from burning by transforming discarded tires into soles.  So far succeeded in saving over fifty thousand tires from the flames, we are well on our way. To us, Bali & California are places those special places that matter. We feel a strong social responsibility towards protecting these amazing places we call home. We love hearing about your favorite places! Show us your place that matters this #WorldEnvironmentDay!    

“Welcome to Bali, do you have any plastic bags to declare?” After a year of campaigning, Pastika, the Governor of Bali, has met 12 and 13 year olds Isabel and Melati Wijsen from the Green School in Bali. Finally he has signed the Memorandum of Understanding to take measures that will see the use of plastic bags minimised on Bali by January 1st, 2016. Pastika said he was touched by the social initiative of the “child led action” that had gained such attention on Bali and around the world, following their recent talk at INK India. “I am not a hero, it is part of my job,” replied Mangku Pastika. He said he not only sympathized with the project, he loved it and wanted to support it. The Bye Bye Plastic Bags campaign began in 2013 when the two Green School students attended the GIN conference and decided to follow their role models to take action to make a change in the world. Since then, the girls have gathered a team of kids from local and international schools around the island to support them and have managed to collect over 60,000 signatures for a petition [www.avaaz.org/en/bye_bye_plastic_bags_on_bali/?rc=fb] to ban the use of plastic bags on Bali by 2016. At the meeting today, Melati told the Governor of their dream that one day all those visiting Bali would be greeted at the airport with the words: “Welcome to Bali, do you have any plastic bags to declare?” “It won’t be easy” said Isabel,“ but together, working with the Governor, and all the kids from Bali, we can return this island to the beautiful paradise it was.”

The Bye Bye Plastic Bags Girls, Isabel and Melati Wijsen, are putting plastic where their mouths are in a bid to force a meeting with the governor of Bali to highlight the plight of their campaign to rid the island of plastic bags. On November 24, the girls will begin a food strike as added leverage to get the governor, I Made Mangku Pastika, to meet with them and put a timeline on a law that will ban the use of plastic bags on Bali. The girls, who have just returned from India where they were met with standing ovations at the INK Conference in Mumbai, have been gathering widespread support for their campaign in a bid to ramp up more support for the Bye Bye Plastic Bags (BBPB) petition to raise a million signatures. "It is now time for Pastika to meet with us," says Isobel. "We and the team have done a lot of hard work to get our campaign noticed and it is only fair that Pastika takes the time, like many prominent people have now done, to talk to us about how we are going to stamp out the problem of plastic bags in Bali," says Melati. "If we have to go on hunger strike to get his attention, then so be it," says Isobel. BBPB is a social initiative driven by children, local and international, living in Bali between 10 and 15 years old who are committed to preserving the beauty of Bali by banning plastic bag use. The initiative was founded by Green School students, Melati and Isabel Wijsen, in late 2013 and is now made up of a dedicated team of 25 children, with more joining from around the world every day. So far BBPB have raised nearly 65.000 signatures for their petition through AVAAZ, spoken to more than 3500 students across the world in three different languages and is running a plastic bag-free program in a pilot village on Bali, with local authority’s approval, as well as raising general awareness at markets, events and festivals. The group have already garnered significant support for their lobbying of national and international media and have met and received the support of Jane Goodall and her Roots and Shoots program as well as the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki moon. This week the team won Bali Yak Awards and received a nomination by The Role Foundation for Green School to become a role model high school for 2014. The BBPB team have sent many letters to the government and Governor but he has still not made any effort to respond. With all the publicity surrounding the campaign the girls have decided to act now to speed up the process. They will NOT stop drinking but WILL refuse solid food from sunrise to sunset from November 24 until they have this meeting. On November 28, the girls are asking their school and all those on Bali aware of their campaign, to join them. For more information contact; byebyeplasticbag@gmail.com sign their petition here https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Byebye_Plastic_Bags_On_Bali/?aDjcKgb

We caught up with our friends from Bureo Skateboards to find out a little more about the company, where it came from and where it is going! For those who don’t know, Bureo was started by Ben Kneppers, an outdoor enthusiast with a passion for the environment and of course skateboarding; David Stover, a surfer with great respect for the ocean and Kevin Ahearn, an engineer that brings this knowledge to the world of sustainably made skateboards. Tell us a little about your product and how it came about? While living in Sydney, Australia back in 2012, the idea sprouted as the team made it a mission to find solutions for plastic pollution in our oceans. The goal was to develop fun and innovative products from upcycled plastic waste by creating a sustainable collection program that gives back to coastal communities. Brainstorming ideas eventually led to plastic skateboards and faced with a multitude of plastic debris, we became intrigued with fishnet waste, highly durable materials that are a massive source of plastic pollution in our oceans. From there, we spent several months in a plastic engineering lab to study the fishnet materials, and develop a recycled formula for our skateboards. What made you aware of the situation in Chile and how did you begin to do something about it? People think the reason we are working in Chile is because they have a huge pollution problem, but the fact is ocean plastic pollution is a global issue. We began in Chile because they gave us the opportunity to do something about it. In addition to the funding we received from Northeastern Universities IDEA Venture Accelerator program (IDEA), we received critical seed funding from the Start-up Chile program, which allowed us to bring our ideas to a proven product. We were also supported by World Wildlife Fund Chile and a collection of fishing syndicates that were open to support our project from the very early stages. In the first year of operations in Chile, we spent a significant amount in a few select fishing villages. During this time we explained our objectives with the communities and began working with the fisherman to responsibly collect and recycle their fishing nets. We are now working to further establish our relationships with these communities and expand our collection programs. What does Bureo mean and why is it important to you? The name ‘Bureo’ comes from the language of the Mapuche, the native Chileans, and means ´the waves’. Selected in honor of the Chilean people, the name represents our mission. Just as a wave originates from a disturbance of wind along the ocean surface, Bureo is starting with a small change in an ocean of plastic. Through time and energy, the waves of Bureo will develop the force required to cause real change. We wanted to recognize Chile, as they gave us the opportunity to launch our project. We hope that we can show them, through our actions, how grateful we were for their support. What is Net Positiva? Net Positiva is our fishing net collection and recycling program. Currently, it is operating in three communities in Chile with plans to expand this year. Through Net Positiva we aim to work with fisherman to ensure their gear is disposed of properly.  We have plans to continue expanding Net Positiva in Chile and other global regions. We hear you’ve found yourself a collaboration with Patagonia, tell us what this means to Bureo? We have always looked at Patagonia as the benchmark for delivering quality products while maintaining a high standard of responsibility at many levels. It was awesome to be able to share our plans and goals with a partner that aligns so well with our vision. Gaining the support of Patagonia through their $20Million & Change fund ensures that we are able to continue developing Bureo. This includes expansion of our current programs in Chile, and exploring projects in new regions. Tell us about your distribution, are you doing anything to prepare for the upcoming holiday season? We just launched sales in the US in September. Currently we are just getting our boards into select retail location, and offering product on our online store. We are running a recycling program in Chile to collect 6-7 tonnes of fishing net in the next 6 weeks, so this will keep most of the team busy before the holiday! A part of our team has stayed behind in California to keep distribution going, and to make sure we get our boards out for the holidays. We think the Minnow cruiser board is pretty high on a lot of wish lists…followed closely by a pair of Indosoles of course! We thank the Bureo crew for taking the time to let us know a little more about their awesome skateboards. You can find them at www.bureoskateboards.com

Indosole is proud to announce a big step in our small backyard of San Francisco. We have grown our operation from the grassroots of a home based office and backyard shed, to a real-deal office/warehouse space in the heart of San Francisco's surf community. In partnership with San Franpsycho, we have opened a retail shop offering apparel, jewelry, accessories, and of course Indosole footwear. With 2500 sq. feet of workspace, we are also running our warehouse and HQ at this location. 3830 Noriega St. has been the long-time home of a Korean Church. The building itself holds a special charm and warmth that has changed hands to our handsome/beautiful crew and we have re-branded it as "The Church of Surf." Please stop by and say hi and pick up a San Franpsycho T-shirt and some new kicks!

Much love to all those who participated in the Canggu Beach Cleanup on March 20th. IndoSole is previleged to have Canggu as our home base in Bali since the locals are always glowing with stoke. If you have ever surfed Canggu, you know how well the left and the right crank; however the heavy rains drain garbage through the rivermouth and into the ocean. Let us all remember that beaches do need an extra hand from time to time. Shout out to IndoSole's sole surfers Jun and Karbit...both in the ChangguSurfCommunity photo! Here's the cleanup article by IndoSurfLife.com