Thanks to a company called Okabashi, flip-flops are also being made with soy.

What’s special about Okabashi shoes? Company president Kim Falkenhayn says, “We’re one of the remaining 2 percent of shoe manufacturers still operating domestically. We make shoes in Buford, Georgia, where people have been making shoes for generations – first out of leather scraps from larger goods like horse collars, and now using recyclable and renewable materials, including soybean oil.

Okabashi shoes are well known for our Comfort Footbed. Lots of arch support and contours allow people who thought they couldn’t wear flip-flops to love them. Runners who need more support, people recovering from surgery and those with issues such as plantar fasciitis are able to wear our shoes comfortably.”

Sustainability is a big part of the brand. Falkenhayn said, “In the late 80s and early 90s, we were watching factory after factory leave the U.S., and we didn’t want to be next. We had to become even leaner, and our production had to be even more efficient to compete with inexpensive labor overseas. 

Part of our efficiency efforts is watching for new materials that would not just make our products better, but more sustainable. Plasticizers, a pellet we use to create parts of our shoes, became commercially viable as a bio-based product using soybean oil. We jumped on that opportunity.”

“There are a couple of things that make soybean oil a good fit for our plasticizer,” she adds. “For one, the addition of soybean oil helped the product meet all of our specifications – from softness to strength. That’s a basic requirement for any material we use. On top of that, soy is grown on a large scale in the U.S., and it’s available anytime we need it at any quantity we require. Those two things together allowed us to make the leap from a petroleum-based product to a bio-based product that fits our brand better.”

You’ll find the Okabashi brand in Walgreens and CVS, and at the company’s online store. So when those Old Navy flip flops wear a hole in them (again), consider replacing them with Okabashi shoes that are supportive for feet and for U.S. soybean farmers.

 Global footwear powerhouse Skechers is building on the technology in its footwear through a new collaboration with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Select styles across multiple categories for men, women and kids will utilize Goodyear rubber technology in custom Skechers outsoles that will deliver increased grip, stability and durability.

“This collaboration is an example of two trusted brands coming together to create a high-tech product that will truly benefit our consumer,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Through this effort, select products will feature Goodyear Performance Outsoles, offering that extra edge where it’s needed most—be it enhanced stability on a run, excellent grip over slippery surfaces in the workplace, or durability on the playground for long-lasting wear. We expect this will resonate with our customers who need these innovations in the comfortable Skechers footwear that they love.”

“Goodyear has always worked to create innovative products that provide consumers with high-performance tires, and now we’re using that same ingenuity to enable consumers to wear high-performance shoes,” said Christian Jurado, Goodyear’s global director of licensed products.

The shoes, featuring Goodyear Performance Outsoles, are designed for durability with long-lasting wear, excellent grip on a variety of surfaces and weather conditions and enhanced stability through exceptional traction. This is made possible with Goodyear-developed rubber technology that contains a special polymer including sustainable soybean oil—a renewable, bio-based material used in some of the company’s top-performing tires – available in the U.S. and Canada – the Assurance® WeatherReady®, Eagle® Exhilarate® and Eagle® Enforcer® All Weather® and the Assurance ComfortDrive®.

Initially launched on three running shoes from the Skechers GOrun collection, the range of styles featuring Goodyear Performance Outsoles now includes a wider assortment of running and walking sneakers and will expand through 2020 to athletic lifestyle, trail, and work footwear categories for men and women, as well as kids’ styles.

Skechers styles featuring Goodyear Performance Outsoles are available at Skechers retail stores, www.skechers.com, and select retail partners.