Indosole Blog & News

Celebrate Earth Day with Indosole! Discover our commitment to reducing our environmental footprint and shaping a sustainable future. This year, we're excited to team up with incredible partners to embark on a creative journey that makes a positive impact. Explore our collection of recycled sandals and footwear!

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

Indosole is enthused to release ESSNTLS, the footwear collection that will form part of the next generation of environmental solutions. ESSNTLS represents the second stage of Indosole’s mission to become the most responsible footwear company in the world. ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATORSWe dedicated the last 10 years to being the environmental keepers of the future. We merged artisan skill with corrective impact, developing a laborious shoemaking process that transforms tires to soles by hand. Through this analog technology and circular thinking we were able to save over 80K+ tires from landfills but looking at the exponential rate of industrial world waste, we realized we had to up our game. We set out to prevent the environmental hiccup of the future. A breakthrough technology was needed that could address mass scale. Indosole aspired to double growth while significantly reducing global negative impact. INDOSOLE GETS SETT® (SOLE ENGINEERED TIRE TECHNOLOGY)We set aside a whole year for deep R&D, investigating how to best advance the circular economy through footwear. Nature is a zero-waste, non-polluting system and Indosole benchmarked the same. Mimicking nature, our lab scientists experimented with destroying the existing tire to rebuild the rubber from scratch. Through this process our lab researchers discovered our own Sole Engineered Tire Technology (SETT®) which pulverizes the tire into a fine powder and resets it with natural and recycled rubber. This malleable tire gel is set to revolutionize the footwear industry by maximizing the volume of recycled rubber that contributes to pollution elimination. THE ESSNTLS COLLECTIONAbsolute Transparency: The ESSNTLS line is based around our new SETT® production, meaning there is no waste by-product. While the artisan process is efficient, minimal tire scraps are produced when cut by hand. With SETT® manufacturing every part of the tire is condensed and remolded into a shoe sole. As landfill guardians we track each step of our production process to be the greenest and the cleanest. Mass Impact: Mass production is infamous for generating profit in lieu of concern. ESSNTLS has reworked this concept to create massive positive impact. Our Sole Engineered Tire Technology proves that volume can be part of long-term sustainability. In full-swing production Indosole can now save over 1.5K tires a day, meaning that long term relationships with distributors can make an exponential reduction to landfill waste. Our process is quantifiable, which means that we pass environmental ownership and transparency along the supply chain. The Universal Flip flop: Environmentalism isn’t for the elite. We’ve taken the universal appeal of the flip flop and made it easy on the environment, without the usual cost prohibitions. We speak to the laid-back lifestyle of the younger generation, helping them make the seamless shift towards the conscious consumption. In tandem we can shape the shopping patterns of future generations. As the world’s most ECO-nomical flip flop, ESSNTLS makes taking back the environment easy for any age or demographic. ESSNTLS MOVEMENTThe ESSNTLS brand speaks for itself, we’ve trimmed off superfluous vowels to make a minimalist statement. We want to turn this approach into a global movement, where we reframe efficiency as smart thinking that eliminates fuss and waste. Indosole launches the ESSNTLS collection as a new approach to environmental ownership, where being environmentally responsible is as chill and accessible as the way you wander in the world. Get SETT® to reimagine the future.

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!    

The Slow and Indosole are teaming up for a family affair on the 27th of May together with the boys of Reverberation Radio, joining us all the way from LA to play an all vinyl set! After their stop at Coachella and backing up Beck, they’re on their first Asia tour and are hitting up Canggu in Bali for a quick stint at The Slow.   Indosole presents: “The Essentials”On this night we are proud to launch our new handcrafted line called “ The Essentials” which is the first of it’s kind - sustainable, all natural rubber footbeds produced here in Indonesia with our signature tire soles and in a full range of kolours representing elements we want to protect.   Reverberation Radio Formed by Los Angeles band Allah-Las and friends, Reverberation Radio has grown into a much-loved online institution. Their weekly podcast serves up an illuminative, heart-warming and enchanting selection of lost-gem tracks. They encourage listeners to discover new artists and expand their understanding of how music from each decade is intertwined, revolving, and relative. The SlowThe Slow is a multifaceted island stay, incorporating boutique accommodation, all-day dining and specialty signature batched drinks, art, local, culture, and interactive retail, this all set on the coast of Canggu, Bali. A stay at The Slow is an immersive experience. Designed and curated by George Gorrow, the eclectic space gravitates around Gorrow’s personal art collection. The restaurant Eat & Drink by chef Shannon Moran is already listed as one of Bali's top 10 restaurants. We are stoked to celebrate this night with our closest of Bali friends, the ones who make it happen here, the ones we love and the ones we love to have a good time with. RSVP here! Free house pour wine and beer from 7-8pm and 2 for 1 Sid’s boozy infusions from 8-9pm and nothing but good times.       The SlowWEBSITE: http://www.theslow.id/INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/the.slow/ Reverberation RadioWEBSITE: http://reverberationradio.com/SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/reverberation-radioINSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/reverberationradio Allah-LasWEBSITE: http://allah-las.com/INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/allahlas/

With Mother's Day around the corner, we thought we'd honor and celebrate some of our favorite Mom’s in the world - the Indo Crew Mom’s!  We all had amazing childhoods, growing up all over the globe and decided to do some digging up of our fondest memories. All these years and a few better haircuts later, we would like to do a shout out to the most beautiful women in our lives. There’s no way we’d be where we are today without the love and support of these rockstars. So here’s to you Moms, thank you for dealing with all our crazy shenanigans, being the magical key to our success and simply who we have become today. Happy Mother’s day! We love you.   Kyle: "My Mom's Italian roots, smile, humor and love for adventure lives on! Thanks for making me who I am mom."   Kai: “From the beginning - life in Indonesia with My mom was filled with fun times, birthday cakes, Orangutans, and an occasional Nasi Goreng :)."   Chris: “You have always been there for me and have always allowed me to be me! I love you so much!”   Micah: “Moving from sunny Miami to rainy Amsterdam together, to me now running off to Bali. We’ve come such a long way! You’re a total powerhouse, such an inspiration and I love you so much.”   Killian: "Thanks mum, for always keeping my head above water!"

It may not look like it but Kai Paul was born and raised in Indonesia. He grew up in Jakarta with his parents who were school teachers at the Jakarta International School. As a young redhead kid living in Jakarta, Kai got to experience what it is like growing up in a developing nation with a pollution problem. This past February, Kai returned to his family’s alma mater and took the stage at TEDxJIS. Kai took this opportunity to share his passion for his home country of Indonesia and vision for the future of waste management and the emerging “Secondary Resource Market” aka “Modern Day Mining.” “I love Indonesia with all my heart, and that is why I am willing to fight for her. Because I am afraid of the changes we see happening before our eyes.”       Young Kai and his Dad on a boat in Bali (1980’s)                            Young Kai and his Mom in the clean Bali ocean (1980’s)     Now, Kai is a grown man and managing a business (Indosole) which focuses on preventing waste tires from ending up in landfills and giving them new life as saleable products. Kai has done substantial research on the pollution problems facing Indonesia and the world. It’s time to turn those problems into profitable solutions. “If you break down a tire you will get Rubber, Oil, Steel, all valuable commodities on their own.” Every day we are taking resources from the earth - it’s time we take less and work with what we already have - the tons of usable waste materials both going to and sitting in landfills. Let’s look at this waste as an untapped resource. What if we started doing things differently? What if businesses and the governments started investing into these ideas and if each one of our communities adopted them? Click HERE to watch Kai’s Talk now and at the end ask yourself “What if.” Enjoy!

As a brand that started as a hobby and with suitcases full of sandals wheeling through airports, we at Indosole enjoy hearing about other brand's journey and their respective labor of love. We are all underdogs! We met the Topiku brothers Max and Monty last year at an event in San Francisco. Turned out they have a similar mission for the country of Indonesia and a cool conscious product. We asked them to tell their story and equally important to touch on the challenges they have faced along the way.  Here it is and we hope you enjoy Topiku's story! "The Accidental Entrepreneur"   Building a business is tough. Building a socially-minded one is even tougher. Add 9,000 miles of separation and being a full-time college student into the mix, and you have Topiku’s current situation.  Hi, I’m Monty, a 22 year old senior at the University of Southern California, founder and CEO of Topiku: a social enterprise based in California and Indonesia. We’re on a mission to become the world’s most sustainable hat manufacturer, with products handcrafted from upcycled + recycled waste by Indonesian artisans.  We’re still young (we’ve been building our brand for the lesser part of two years), but it’s been incredible watching our mission and network organically grow. However, it’s been a constant struggle learning how to balance and schedule my time between school and personal endeavors.  Back in the summer of 2014, I was an aimless freshman in college who had just given up his dream of becoming an architect. I hated having to fly back to Jakarta to visit my family with all its traffic, craziness, and dirtiness—a stark difference from the comfortable southern Californian atmosphere that I had grown accustomed to. Driven by an overarching desire to create a positive social and environmental impact, I took an internship at a NGO called XS Project. They worked with a community of trash-pickers who lived in a slum of Jakarta, creating value-added products out of the waste that they collected as well as providing front-end jobs. Whilst working for them, I proposed a new product for them: a hat made from upcycled car seat vinyl. Long story short, they rejected my idea; disheartened, I tossed the idea on the backburner.  It wasn’t until I returned to campus—when I showed my friend (who eventually became my business partner) my prototype hats (see below) and told him my story—when the notion of Topiku as a business was born. Reflecting back on Topiku’s formative days on the heels of a quick Topiku Indonesia trip reminds me of just how far I’ve come on this journey of accidental social entrepreneurship. Back then, I definitely did not fully understand the multifaceted and complex concept of sustainability—I simply had an idea for repurposing discarded materials. Was using salvaged material enough to justify sustainability? I wasn’t thinking about who or how they would be made...  Today, Topiku has grown to encompass more than just a mish-mash of up-cycled materials; it’s really come to represent an entire ecosystem of not just professional meaning, but a deeply personal one as well. Over the past few years, I’ve had the honor of working closely alongside inspiring artisans, whom I count amongst the most dedicated and passionate individuals that I’ve ever met. Some highlights: Watching Ninda, who hand-sews all of our bamboo tees, grow from a sole-proprietorship to managing a team of five Visiting Anton’s innovative factory in Gresik, Surabaya, which has engineered a process for recycling cotton and polyester sourced from old clothes and plastic bottles Collaborating with Bang Sano, who leads the environmental movement in Indonesia through his organization, Waste4Change, on various initiatives, from mentorship, to advocacy, to sponsorship of 12 of his trash-pickers’ health insurances And finally, last but certainly not least, observing our community of hat artisans in Cigondewah, Indonesia—led by Kang Asep—develop into a thriving village, where incomes are re-invested into things such as education and health, and corollary industries have emerged as a direct result of exposure to sustainable products and international markets. “I want to dispel the notion that sustainable, socially-impactful products come at the cost of good design and affordability.” As our brand has grown, the bottlenecks and challenges of working with trash as an input have become more apparent. At times, there can be a tension between the trade-offs of good design and good recycling; it really is a balancing act. Many companies with an emphasis on recycling can have some very—for lack of a better term—obvious-looking recycled products (read: ugly and badly designed), take for instance the blatantly upcycled/recycled tote bags that you might find in Ubud or Costa Rica (or even Whole Foods now!).  Do a Google search for “recycled hat” right now—you’ll find some creative ideas, but nothing you’d wear casually. The designs really don’t leave much to the imagination. I want to dispel the notion that sustainable, socially-impactful products come at the cost of good design and affordability.  Thankfully, this past trip has addressed many of the issues that we’ve been facing—particularly scalability. For the past year and a half, the main base of our hats has been made out of upcycled cotton jacket cuts. Upcycling is awesome because it diverts materials from ending up in landfills as well as incentivizes upstream, sustainable employment (read: trashpickers) and even has additional positive externalities, such as waste management and ecological responsibility advocacy. However, small-batch upcycling is not inherently sustainable and is a true bottleneck to spreading our message. This is where Anton, who I mentioned earlier, comes into play; unlocking an efficient production system that can enable sustainable production—in both the environmental and economic sense—is truly pivotal. His source of raw recycled cotton and rPET yarn will allow us to expand our capacity and catalogue in the long run.  I couldn’t be more stoked to be where I’m at today; passionately putting hours on a project that has quickly become my top priority. As the company has grown, so have I. It’s funny to be able to participate in events that would have made me uncomfortable in the past, namely, public speaking. Last week I had my first ever business pitch competition, and I just got word I’m moving on to the final round. On Tuesday I was invited to speak at UC San Diego for their Green Talks event to speak about my understanding of sustainability. Totally had to miss class for all these events ;)  In this age of mass information and demagoguery, it’s easy to feel pessimistic about the world; but looking ahead, I am optimistic that folks like you and I are beginning to appreciate values such as fair trade, women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability, responsible waste management, and cultural preservation through conscious capitalism. I truly believe that social enterprises such as ourselves and Indosole can empower these values to flourish—but we can’t do it alone. It will literally take a village. Monty | monty@topiku.co  You can find Topiku at topiku.co or: Instagram Facebook Store        

The wait is over! We are happy to finally share the video of Indosole founder Kyle Parsons at TEDxUbud 2016. It was quite the event, held within the stunning grounds of Fivelements Bali. The committee had gone to great lengths to put on a zero waste event (no plastic water...