Less Shipping Pollution
The Okabashi factory's Georgia location was carefully selected to be central to many population centers in the United States. This location supports the U.S. economy and workforce, and drastically limits the fuel necessary to transport shoes and sandals from the factory to consumers.
The average Okabashi shoe travels only 7% as far as the average imported shoe, which is a difference of almost 10,000 miles.
Less Waste
The majority of shoes sold in the United States are quite unrecyclable, and most shoe recycling programs are really shoe redistribution programs. At Okabashi, we believe in closed-loop recycling to reduce the use of virgin material and to keep old shoes from becoming environmental waste.
The amount of recycled material in each pair depends on the amount available. The average pair of Okabashi sandals made this year contains 15-25% recycled material.
Green Manufacturing
Our production process is virtually waste-free. Almost all scraps and excess materials are kept free from contaminants and sent through our Microplast Recycling Process. The 2% of re-ground material that cannot be recycled in our factory are sent to our partner company for use in non-apparel goods. Additionally, our recycling, molding, and shut-down procedures enable zero emission of chlorine gas.
We were able to re-introduce and reuse over 100,000 pounds of scrap material last year alone, diverting 10 tractor trailers full of waste from our landfills.
Durable
Other shoes sold in the United States are designed to wear out in 3 to 9 months. Most shoes are difficult to clean, wear out quickly, and are nearly impossible to recycle. Okabashi shoes and sandals typically last 2 to 4 years, are machine washable & dishwasher-safe, and are 100% recyclable. Durable, recyclable Okabashi shoes reduce consumer expenses as well as the natural resources needed to produce and transport new shoes. Your new Okabashi shoes should last at least 2 years - we guarantee it.
Vegan Friendly
The Okabashi brand is 100% vegan-friendly. Our entire footwear line contains no animal skins or byproducts, and our shoes are not tested on animals. Most sandals and flip flops that contain animal by-products such as leather and adhesives are nearly impossible to recycle and end up polluting our landfills for hundreds of years.
Ways to Recycle
When your well-worn Okabashis have just about had it, there are 2 ways you can recycle them:
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Call your local recycling center or visit 1800recycling.com to find out where you can recycle your Okabashis
Send your worn pair back to Okabashi and receive a special coupon for your next purchase:
ATTN: Recycling Program
Okabashi Brands, Inc.
4823 Roy Carlson Blvd.
Buford, GA 30518
OUR COMMITMENT
Okabashi recycling starts with the raw material that we use to make the shoes, Microplast. This material is unique in that it can be softened and remolded. When old shoes are sent back to the factory , our team will inspect them for contaminants. If the shoes are contamination-free, we grind them up and blend the little pieces of previously molded Okabashis into the mixture for new Okabashis.
Okabashi makes environmental concerns a priority in everything we do. Not only are we concentrating on our primary footwear production process, we are extending the "waste wise" campaign to all aspects of our facility, including but not limited to a 100% recycled cardboard program and even recycling our soda cans.
