Blog entries

Innovating around the basic concept of how we make flip-flops

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:58:13 +0100

The core of making a flip-flop hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. The materials and design have been updated, but flip-flops are still for the most part made in the exact same way as they have been for a long time. Rightfully so, since the flip-flop is pretty much the most basic type of footwear in existence!

Flip-flops were one of the first types Read More...

Proud to be a Green America Approved Business!

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 03:02:37 +0100

Last week we at Common Soles learned that we have been accepted as an official green business by Green America! This means that the Common Soles product, business practices, and processes we employ have been audited by the Green America research team to ensure they meet the established criteria to deem us a green business!

The auditing/Read More...

Business as a force for social good

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:12:05 +0100

We have seen and written about numerous examples of businesses that leverage their influence on the public for the benefit of a social cause. One business which has always stood out from the crowd is The Body Shop. Founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick in England, The Body Shop has always stood for ethical business and been a model organization for giRead More...

Recycling your old Common Soles flip-flops

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:57:02 +0100

Today I received a new laptop battery – it’s pretty exciting for me because my current battery only holds a charge for about 5 minutes. So now I’m back humming 100% with this new battery and able to go about my day in my usual un-tethered manner! But what remains of this re-battery process is my old battery. Pretty much a useless item to me, so wRead More...

A letter from the Two Ten Footwear Foundation

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:16:11 +0100

The 210 Footwear Foundation is all about "shoepeople helping shoepeople". We're down with that! Nice letter from 210 President Peggy Meill.

How we maintain quality working conditions at our factory

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:16:03 +0100

We get lots of questions on how we maintain and ensure that our footwear factory overseas is providing a quality work environment for all employees. It’s a great question and we’ve written about such related practices previously here in the Sole Blog. But when trolling through some of these earlier posts I realized that we have not specifically laid out our criteria, findings, and notes in one clear anRead More...

Summer soles!

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:11:03 +0100

No words needed. Thanks Rigoli!-Dave

Innovative and eco-friendly packaging options

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:19:18 +0100

Many brands have gotten quite creative with their packaging, offering innovative eco-friendly packaging instead of the classic cardboard box. A few of our favorites are from Timbuk2 and PACT. Timbuk2 has taken it to a whole new level by printing a map of the city of San Francisco on the outside of the plastic bag they ship their bags in. The map is dubbeRead More...

Common Soles now for sale in Newport, RI

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:03:51 +0100

For those of you heading to Newport, RI this summer please be sure to stop by and see us at Potter & Co at 172 Thames Street. Potter & Co. has been offering casual, lifestyle, and functional clothing and accessories for over 100 years to both the locals and tourists of beautiful Newport. Lucky for us, Chafee Emory, Potter & Co's neRead More...

What do we do with our surplus footwear and factory seconds?

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:55:52 +0100

We've been getting the question of what we do with our seconds from many of you so I figured I'd write up a few quick words on the afterlife of a second quality Common Soles flip-flop.

Any seconds, or flip-flops which are made in our factory and don't pass our quality tests are either: 1) disassembled and re-made into new flips, 2) Read More...

The reality of being a green business

Tue, 25 May 2010 02:43:36 +0100

Rao and I strongly believe that all businesses need to incorporate the consideration of environmental health into their business strategy and practices. We have made it a core tenant of the Common Soles business model from the beginning. Since making it public that we were going to be an environmentally conscious business we have made some signRead More...

Product tour video of our new Cocos Flip-Flop

Thu, 20 May 2010 18:00:24 +0100

Help us get a new library and laboratory for the Purchuru girls school!

Tue, 04 May 2010 23:25:49 +0100

We are over 50% of the way to completing this initiative which rebuilds the small library and laboratory at the all-girls school in Purchuru, India. This rural school provides education to girls in the region who otherwise would not be able to go to school. Many graduates end up being the first in their family to go to university and/or get jobs in the citRead More...

Detail on the Mashpee Wampanoag Food Pantry Initiative

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:44:01 +0100

We are excited to be working on our first US based initiative with the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe in Cape Cod, Massachusetts! It all began when Rao and I thought it would be cool to expand our product offer to closed-toe footwear as well. Moccasins came to mind and we set out on a journey to find a source. TurnsRead More...

Our first direct retail outlet is now open

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:28:08 +0100

Dave and I have been working the past few months diligently on getting out some new eco-friendly styles that he just blogged about and starting our first direct retail outlet. We opened our first mall cart in “The Parks At Arlington” mall in Dallas, TX just yesterday. Needless to say we are super excited.

Coconut shells, woven jute, rubber and some lacing!

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:16:49 +0100

Those are the major components of our latest style flip-flop. We just got them in and are thrilled with how they came out. Comfortable, stylish (at least in our opinion!) and responsibly produced from materials sourced local to the factory in which they were assembled. We’re working on dialing in the micro-initiative theRead More...

Our favorite responsibly made Spring 2010 fashions

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:39:42 +0100

It’s spring time here in Boston, and we’re all out and about enjoying the sun, breeze, and adventure that comes with it. With that I’ve been having some great conversations with friends of mine on their favorite fashions this Spring. Fashions from brands that give a damn, and have built values based business models. Whether it’s incorporating organic and natural materials, giving back to the community, or leveraging responsible manufacturing processes. It’s all gRead More...

Expanding the Conversation on Social Ventures

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:51:31 +0100

Lisa and I were recently traveling the South Island of New Zealand for two glorious weeks. It was absolutely amazing – New Zealand is indeed adventure-land. On several occasions when chatting with folks in NZ we found ourselves telling the tale of what Common Soles is up to. For the most part, everyone responds quite well to our story (or at least weRead More...

What are the factory guidelines set by the Fair Labor Association?

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:40:44 +0100

The Fair Labor Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sweatshop conditions. We fully support this cause and organization. Being a supporter is one thing, truly understanding he benchmarks they have outlined that constitute good working conditions is slightly more complexRead More...

An update on what we’re currently up to at Common Soles

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:32:52 +0100

I just got back from a two week trip to New Zealand. What an incredible country. The best way for me to describe it is: "Lake Tahoe meets Hawaii". It’s that amazing of a place. We toured the South Island and drew a TON of inspiration from the Kiwi culture as well as spoke with dozens of folks who live in flops year round.

During Read More...