Indosole Blog & News

Indosole was recently included in an article published by CNN about "artists and brands around the world who are finding thrilling ways to take old tires and repurpose them into stunning and stylish new artworks and products." Aside from Indosole, the article features a jewelry designer, a sculptor, and an Australian homeware manufacturer. Click here to read the full article. For more of Indosole in the news, explore our media gallery here.

How do you think Indosole turns discarded tires into the soles of footwear? As a certified B Corporation we use a process that's responsible yet promises high quality footwear. You may have seen our production process snapshots on social media - we have several divisions dedicated to working on different parts of our footwear. Scroll down to see some recent snapshots from the tire cutting division. The process of producing Indos doesn't involve any sort of melting down or reforming of the tires - just strong hands and minds at work here!

Yogabarn – Ubud, Bali Indosole is proud to announce our entry into the world of yoga this week as we now have a location at the beautiful Yogabarn in Bali. This is a huge moment for us as we start selling Indo’s in a completely new industry and can’t wait to see how the Yogi’s like our style!! Yogabarn is a relaxing and genuine place full of calm and healing that really aligns well with our mission statement and engages people to want to conserve the environment as we do. So, if you’re ever in Bali and want a spot to rest yourself after a day on the water, check out our friends at www.theyogabarn.com and don’t forget to grab a new pair of Indo’s!!

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

It’s time to get personal! As we know, Indosole would be nothing without our super hard-working team over in Bali so we thought we’d share a little about two of our ‘Indo-Family’. Meet Komang, our factory Manager from Denpasar, Bali. Komang is 28 years old and has already been making shoes for 10 years – 5 of those for Indosole! Komang is the brains of the Bali operation and we are so glad to have her on our team! Komang likes to rock her favorite pair of black Kelapa’s each day when coming to work at the Indosole factory and who can blame her? They look great! Thanks Komang!! Meet Dodi... He is our upper construction worker who has been part of the Indosole team for 3 years and already a household name around the Bali factory. Dodi is originally from the city of Surabaya on the island of Java and is married with a one-year-old baby. His favorite shoe is the black Prahu so enjoys being able to make them too! Komang and Dodi are what we simply call “Great Humans” and want to thank them for all the hard work they put in to make the Indosole dream a reality. With Komang, Dodi and the rest of the crew in Bali by our side we are well on our way to saving 1 Million waste tires in Indonesia and making what we call “Soles with Soul!”

Indosole represents a lifestyle of resourceful creation. Each year, over one billion waste tires end up in landfills worldwide. We are on a mission to salvage discarded tires and give them new life as soles for our footwear. So far, Indosole has prevented over 30,000 tires from ending up in landfills and have turned those tires into over 60,000 pair of shoes. As a whole, Indosole features a toxic-free manufacturing process and does not use fuel powered machinery to make its footwear, just strong hands and minds. While based in San Francisco, CA and Bali, Indonesia the company's ethos is to take care of their people while chipping in to protect the environment's bottom line. We've partnered with organizations that contribute to the planet's well being and often conduct beach clean-ups, give backs, and community based events. B Corp is a natural fit for Indosole as it represents the values of our brand's integrity. Together, we believe we can produce high-quality products with a conscious effort to take care of our people while making our planet a better place to walk on.

Luxurious and hip are two perfectly suited words to help describe the island of Bali, Indonesia, and inevitably placing it high on the tourist destinations list. Bali has inspired tourists and transplants to help make and support Bali in becoming a cleaner and more environmentally conscious place. Change can come about through education, and with different inspiring projects and movements immersing,  this well needed change in Bali is definitely starting to be seen, and more importantly felt within the community. EcoBali recycling is undeniably at the forefront of these namely inspiring projects. It was Founded in 2006 by individualsd who unanimously had the burning desire to respond to the waste management issues in Bali and actually do something about it. Envisioning a 'Zero Waste' policy as their solution, EcoBali takes matters into their own hands by operating its own facilities such as sorting and material recovery. In providing services such as waste separation, recycling and composting, collecting an average 15 tons of non-organic waste every month, their sustainable solutions to waste management have replenished a staggering 50-70% waste reduction. With different initiatives, like adopt a school, within the project, EcoBali recycling aims to increase the inherent needed awareness on a broad spectrum, educating on the best environmental practices achievable among individuals, communities and businesses. Initiatives like this are a sign of greater things to come for Bali, allowing it to maintain its luxurious and unique status. For those who want to enjoy their stay in Bali without feeling guilty of joining that pollution bandwagon, ecoBali is the best and easiest solution. Do your research and get involved!

Ombak Bali teamed up with La Plancha a bar and restaurant in Seminyak, for the fifth year in a row. Together they hosted South East Asia's only International Surf Film Festival. Their collaboration is a perfect fusion of surfers paradise and outdoor cinema, and taking it to another level. Colourful bean bags scattered all along the sand, a big screen hooked up to a sound system just in front of the water, and food and bar service from La Plancha, all made it the perfect Bali weekend hangout. While aiming to promote environmental and social issues through raising awareness, Ombak Bali is mainly a platform for national and international surf film and documentary makers. Giving them the opportunity to showcase and expose their work to like minded people, Ombak are keen on those artists who are exploring surfing beyond the barrels and the waves. The festival featured films like "The Old, The Young and The Sea" and "Out in the Lineup" and were showcased over a full three day period of two films per day. The festival is an ever-growing event with the likes of Ripcurl, Bilabong and Surftime as their partners, among others. They are already taking applications for 2015, so any surf film or documentary makers out there you might want to jump on board!

The Batik fabric used in Indosole's products is hand dyed with traditional Balinese wax-resist methods, which are free from toxic chemicals and fuel powered machinery. Click on the link below and learn more about the batik making process.