How to Recycle Your Flip Flops

As a flip-flop lover, I couldn't resist sharing this post from our friends at The Greenest Dollar...

How to Recycle Your Flip Flops
Now that it’s mid-July your flip flops, which showed show so much bright summer promise back in May, might be getting a little worse for wear. And if you’ve had your flip flops for a few years, they might be ready for retirement.

Well guess what? We can recycle our flip flops. Yippee!

Recycling Method #1: Unique Eco
The good news? Unique Eco Designs takes flip flops that wash up on beaches (and old pairs that you send in) and turns them into funky art. They provide much needed jobs to women and children, and help support the local economy.

They also donate 9% of the sale from your flip flops to charity.

The bad news? They’re in Kenya, which means we have to mail our flip flops half way around the world.

So, does mailing flip flops so far take away the goodness you’re doing by recycling them?

I’m not sure, and don’t even know how to calculate the impact of either choice.

Here’s the address if you want to send your flip flops in for recycling:

Unique Eco Designs

P.O. Box 15565-00503

Nairobi, Kenya

But keep reading if you’re here in the U.S., because I found a better way…

Recycling Method #2: Hansen’s Surf Shop
Hansen’s Surf Shop in San Diego, CA is collecting used flip flops to send to Unique Eco. So, sending them in bulk through Hansen’s would, I think, negate the environmental impact of all of us sending them one pair at a time.

Hansen’s has become an official collection site for Unique Eco Designs. Here’s what they have to say about it:

It seemed natural that we should become UniquEco’s first collection source in the U.S. After all, we are StyleSubstanceSole – oops, Soul. We’re all about doing good. And because we live in Southern California – the land of flip flops – what better place to make a real impact? We could actually help reduce landfills one flip flop at a time.

So if you have flip flops to recycle, send them to:

StyleSubstanceSoul
3525 Del Mar Heights Road #582
San Diego, CA 92130

Hansen’s, thanks for being so cool to send in our flip flops for us. You rock big time.

Last Word…
Do any of you know more places that take flip flops for recycling? Know some ingenious ways to reuse them at home?

Amazon has a great welcome mat made from recycled welcome flip flops!