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

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.

Today we happily announce our newest team members Vivien and Louie! Vivien will intern with us in Bali supporting our Bali crew's daily missions for the rest of the year. Louie is stationed in San Francisco supporting the SF crew. Here's a little something from each of them... Vivien Hi there! I’m Vivien from Germany. I’m 21 years old and study International Business in Nuremberg. As an IB student I have the opportunity to study and intern abroad for one semester each. Since I love travelling and experiencing new cultures this fit perfectly into my plan. So far I’ve managed to live in the US for a year, spent my last semester in the beautiful city Cádiz in Spain and chose Bali as the perfect place to take my internship. When I started looking for an internship a couple months ago, my last but not least priority was that I wanted to intern for a company on a mission to do good. After all my research for the perfect company, I immediately felt connected to Indosole because it sounded like such a simple, yet so genius idea. I applied right away and – lucky me – got accepted closely after that. Cheers to a wonderful couple of months in Balifornia! Louie Hello everyone! My name is Louie and I’m the newest Intern here at the San Francisco office of Indosole. I’m 21, originally from London, England and am currently a third year at Northeastern University in Boston. I have just moved up from living in LA for the last few months and expect a completely new and different experience in the city by the bay, and whilst I know very little about baseball, GO GIANTS! As part of my degree I am spending a few months with Indosole to help out with any day-to-day work and hope to learn more about a growing start-up, along with sales, advertising and brand management. I'm having a great time selling Indos and Cocos at all our events so far, and love being able to be a part of such a great story!

Indosole has teamed up with Honest Tea and collaborated on a pair of special edition Indos! Click on any of the banners between now and October 17th to enter for a chance to win yourself a pair of these one of a kind Honest Tea Indosole shoes.

    Imagine yourself sitting on a tropical beach.  All ten toes digging in the warm sand.  Clear blue waves lapping in the background.  A local walks up to you and offers a fresh coconut.  He pulls out his machete, and within three graceful hacks the ice cold coconut is ready to drink. Now, imagine yourself walking through a street fair on the 7x7 “island” of San Francisco.  You look over to your right and you see a booth draped in beautiful handmade jewelry.  Keep strolling down, and to your left you spot some hip mason jar coffee cup invention.  A few more steps, and your eyes lock on the masterful display of coconut hacking at the Indosole booth.  You notice the “Indos and Cocos” sign propped up near the ice cold coconuts.  $5 coconuts.  $35 sandals.  $45 shoes.  Someone next to you asks “Are your sandals and shoes made from coconuts?” (I can’t tell you how many time I’ve got asked this question) Good question, but not quite.  All of our footwear is handmade on the enchanting island of Bali, Indonesia where sitting on the beach and drinking out of a coconut is part of the experience.  No coconut husks in our shoes, but every sole is made from repurposed tires from Indonesian landfill.  Our Indos and Cocos tour bring a little slice of Bali heaven to our Indosole booth. We have a handful of epic events coming up throughout the month of October and November.  Urban Air Market on Haight Street is going down on Saturday October 11th.  Who wouldn’t want to walk around Haight Street looking at all the rad vendors with a coconut in hand, and fresh new Indo’s on your feet?  After drinking that coconut, I’m sure you’ll want to find the nearest beach.  Fear not, the Ocean Beach Music and Art Festival is taking place the same day.  You can jam out with Don Carlos, The She’s, Air Surgeon, Down and Outlaws, and many more local bands right near da’ beach (Noriega Street to be exact).  Not to mention there will be over ten food vendors, two beer gardens, live art, a mobile petting zoo, and a pumpkin patch!  And yes, you called it, we will be hacking coconuts and selling Indo’s at the Indosole HQ. The dance party and coconut drinking doesn’t stop there.  The following weekend is one of our all time favorite events… The Treasure Island Music Festival.  We will have our coconut lounge ready for you and your friends to sit back, take a break and quench your thirst after rocking out.  Silent Disco… with coconut in hand? Now we’re talking.  And you know those high heels won’t last you long.  Our signature sandals and shoes will have your feet feeling cool and comfortable alllll niiiiight loooong…. To round out our tour, we will be feeling right at home at the Green Festival at the Fort Mason Center, Friday November 14- Sunday November 16.  Our sustainable footwear will be surrounded by over 250 eco-friendly businesses.  At the Green Festival, you can experience the widest selection of products and services to work green, play green, and live green. Come refresh your sole, and join us on rounding out the 2014 Indos and Cocos tour!

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.