Flip flops have got to be one of the most wonderful footwear inventions of all time. Here in Australia, they are practically national dress - except over here we call them "thongs", which I understand means something completely different in the USA :).
 
Back in 2008, I published an article on recycling flip flops and lamented the fact that they are usually made from polyurethane. As polyurethane is a number 7 resin, they are difficult to recycle, so at best you can repurpose them. EVA, Ethylene Vinyl Acetate, is another common material used for flip flop construction and is also difficult to recycle in small quantities.
 
I'm not too sure what the situation is like across the pond, but over here flip flops are a real waste problem; often winding up in waterways. They were a common sight when I was cleaning up rubbish along a local river bank.
 
Anyhow, I was contacted by Orli Rudolph from omdala recently who let me know she has just produced a new brand of flip flops. These are manufactured in Brazil, are recyclable and are made of  rubber. These aren't your usual flip-flop; they have a touch of class about them.


According to Orli, these flip-flops contain no EVA or polyurethane. During the manufacturing process, all the rubber trimmings are recycled - melted down into new rubber sheets for making more flip flops.
 
They feature Silver OM, Buddha, Lotus Flower and Butterfly rivets and you can choose from a wide range of stone settings - Amethyst, Aquamarine, Crystal, Peridot, Rose Quartz, Ruby or Sapphire.
 
As a connoisseur of this kind of footwear, I must say they aren't a bad looking thong... er, I mean flip flop. I imagine once they have worn out, aside from the rubber being able to be recycled, you could repurpose the rivet as a pendant. Perhaps omdala might consider a rivet-less version too for even less potential waste.
 
You can buy Omdala flip flops online here - a percentage of all proceeds go to the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI).