All over the world people are looking for ways to get greener in their everyday lives. Governments have been pressuring businesses and local governments to get involved by coming up with unique and innovative schemes to reduce waste and increase recycling. This type of innovation will be necessary, especially in developing nations that may not have the funds or technology to behave in environmentally responsible ways. One of the key issues for the developing world is to figure out ways to keep waste out of landfills and create cheap energy that comes from things that do not pollute the environment. One company in Ethiopia has found a way to make valuable items out of recycled material that otherwise might have ended up finding its way into a landfill.
SoleRebels has made a successful online business by doing something that Ethiopians have been doing for decades. For years Ethiopians have turned old truck tyres into sandals and now SoleRebels is using the internet to take this practice worldwide. Bethlehem Tilahun, a female Ethiopian entrepreneur, has added leather uppers and funky cotton to sandals made out of used tyres and thus far they have been a big hit internationally. The shoes are made in the small SoleRebels factory, which is actually just a small house, and then use Amazon.com to move and ship their product.
Tilahun has big plans for the business, which is now in its fifth year and employs over forty people. Even though they are small, SoleRebel’s overhead is also small, which gives it a chance to be a major force in African footwear.
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