Rope Sandals: A Nomadic State Of Mind
Chris Anderson is a young man who started his own company making rope sandals out of nylon rope. The sandals are the most comfortable things I’ve ever worn on my feet and I get complimented on them all the time. My brother ran into Chris in 1999 in a parking lot of a Phil Lesh show. He was very friendly and offered to let my bro try the sandals on. Those sandals still survive today, (although they are very worn in.)
Chris eventually needed more sandals than he could make on his own so he travelled to Nicaragua and arranged for a family who had lost their coffee farm to take over his production in what Chris calls socially responsible manufacturing or in other words, a living wage, not slave wages. He has grown exponentially and currently travels around to all the biggest festivals including Bonnaroo in Tennessee, All Good in West Virginia and 10,000 Lakes in Michigan and many more.
His sandals are not only the most comfortable sandals I’ve ever worn but when I wear them, I always remember that I’m supporting someone whose vision and ideals I relate with. They’re modestly priced at $25 compared to the $125 pricetag of the trendier sandals and these sandals are my favorite shoe. I wish I could wear them all year long. Visit Chris and his wonderful business online at www.NomadicState.com or look for his booth at your favorite Summer festivals this year.
Editor’s note: Judging by the site, Chris has one of the most fun businesses around! Chris had a desire to create a product where there was virtually no waste, and he’s almost there – about 85% of their waste can be recycled into other products. They use some of the waste for rug-making, which produces work/income in the off-season. These rugs are also available from their web site. He’s hoping that when volume increases, they’ll be able to re-extrude the soft polypro rope to make more of the machine washable and color fast sandals; making them a fully recyclable product.
Tags: ecoproducts, footware, recycle, rope, sandal
Jan 31, 2008
While that’s well and good, how about free ones that are similar that have even less of a footprint because they reuse materials?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124274265@N01/121115310/
OR
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=87737.0
However, if you’re really that dreadfully lazy and want to put that extra shipping carbon into your purchase (how far is Nicaragua from YOU?)
Jan 31, 2008
I wonder if Chris copied this concept from Eat Winds, a community in southern Missouri that has sustained their community with this cottage industry for I’m guessing, about twenty years, since my son went to visit them ten years ago, and they had been doing this for some time already. Not that it’s not okay to profit from a good idea that you take and run with, but these are good people that could apparently use a better promotional system. Who knows, maybe they’re not doing it anymore.
Jan 31, 2008
oops! that should’ve been East Winds, not Eat Winds! Maybe I could use a better proof reader!
Jul 25, 2008
Although the free alternative you suggested seem like pretty interesting shoes, how many people really have time to make their own? I personally have a son, am in school, and I work full time. I don’t consider myself “dreadfully lazy”, but appreciate that there is an entire town living off this company and the money they put in to support it. Not only that, but I’ve had my first pair of their sandals for over 5 years and still wear them. A product that is made from recycled material AND lasts a long time is certainly better to me then one I have to continue replacing like many other products I have tried.