Indosole Blog & News

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

We are proud to announce our Official footwear Sponsorship with Camp Grounded's Digital Detox - Adult Summer Camp. in Anderson Valley, CA (3 sessions in June). This partnership is a beautiful thing for everyone. Camp counselors will be wearing Indo's while mentoring the campers through Archery, Rock Climbing, and many more activities. Wanna go to Camp? Well, Indosole has its own $100 off discount code and there is space available in sessions 2 and 3. www.campgrounded.org Enter code: Indosole

We are stoked to announce that Indosole is doing a collaboration with Surfing Magazines 2011 shaper of the year Robert Weiner of Roberts surfboards. We met up with him the other day and not only is he one of the best shapers in the world, he is an all around awesome guy and completely shreds on a surfboard. Roberts has been pushing surf technology since the early 90’s and has shaped boards for people like Torrey Meister, recent winner of the Coldwater Classic, to WCT guys like Jordy Smith. Roberts is best known for his board he created in 2008, the white diamond. This board is a little shorter and wider than your standard short board and Robert added a diamond tail for more release and tighter turns. This design gave a small wave board more high performance ability.  The white diamond really started receiving attention on a Surfer Magazine Design Forum and has accumulated over 180,000 views and over 2,000 comments making it the most viewed and discussed forum in the world. Keep an eye out for Indosole special edition Roberts Sandal that will be coming out soon! Also, if you want to take your surfing to the next level, we recommend testing out a White Diamond or one of Roberts other amazing creations. Here’s a picture of Robert shaping his newest creation the “dream catcher” while rocking our black boat shoes.

Indonesia is a mecca for talented craftspeople, and the Balinese people are some of the best in the world at working with their hands. Their top export is handmade furniture and arts and crafts, yet despite a highly skilled workforce, Bali is not known for footwear production. In fact, the Indosole factory may be the only commercial shoe manufacturer on the island. Since 2010, Indosole has employed over 20 full time Balinese and Javanese artisans to help craft Indosole shoes. They are an awesome group of people with a ton of talent, and even bigger hearts - they’re the rock of our operation, and we couldn’t do it without them. Here’s to our crew, and a product that is looking better and better every day!

We will be setup and selling our fine footwear at the San Francisco Green Festival. Stop by the Indo booth and check it out!

Indosole now offers Mens sizes 14 and/or 15 in Green Grass Mat, Tan Burlap Sandals, and Stone, Chill Blue, Black Pantai "Beach" Shoes.

Join Indosole this weekend at Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco, CA. We will be setup with a booth and stocked with treasures.

Email from Good Human, Mary Osbourne with Klean kanteen   "Dear Sponsors and Friends- Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall weather. I wanted to share a fun upcoming print advertisement.  I just got word that I am in the new Klean Kanteen advertisement that supports 1% for the Planet, and the 5 Gyres team.  This photo was shot while on a 33 day expedition with the 5 Gyres crew. Our talented team of scientists and environmentalists were one of the first boats to explore the South Atlantic gyre system. I hope you enjoyed seeing this as much as I did. Thank you for all your continued support! Cheers, Mary Osborne www.maryosbornesurf.com`"

Come join us for the Noriega Street Fair this Saturday for some good music, food and fun!