Making the world a better place, one step at a time
Ethiopian ethical footwear company, SoleRebels began as an idea to create cool shoes that could be a platform for inspiration and hope.
The shoes are made from eco materials including recycled, organic and bio-based materials and are all handmade. SoleRebels footwear is based on the traditional Ethiopian “selate” and “barabasso” shoes, a recycled car tyre soled shoe that has existed in the country for years.
“We took this wonderful indigenous age-old recycling tradition and fused it with fantastic Ethiopian artisan crafts and excellent modern design sensibilities and turned it into a market beating export brand that is now being retailed around the world. … we carry on that riff everyday growing the styles, the product range, the quality and the brand”.
Founder and managing director, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu calls her company an “eco-sensible” company.
“In addition to recycled car tyre soles all our styles incorporate as much recycled and sustainable materials as possible with ingredients like hand spun and hand loomed organic cotton fabrics and unique natural fibers including Abyssinian hemp and pure Abyssinian koba and Abyssinia leathers. All our shoes are handcrafted making it a truly zero carbon production process. Our products are made in this low-impact manner because historically that is the way it’s been done here in Ethiopia. It also makes great sense given that we have so many talented hands here in Ethiopia that are too often idle because of lack of opportunity and hand works creates great things. This ethos is a major point of affinity for consumers worldwide and a big reason why soleRebels has been embraced by folks from Boston to Beijing!”
Fair Trade certified soles
SoleRebel employees earn “proud wages”. On average, their wages are over 233% higher than the industry average in Ethiopia. This means that the average employee earns 4-5 times the legal minimum wage and over 3 times the industry average.
Some of our favorite, ethical soles
