Global expansion for SoleRebels
Eight years ago, Ethiopia’s Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu set up
SoleRebels, a Fairtrade and eco-friendly footwear brand.
Established in Zenabwork, a poor area on the outskirts of
Addis Ababa, the company now ships its colourful shoes to 55 countries including
Austria, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the US.
The shoes, which are made from recycled materials
including car tyres, have now been certified by the World Fair Trade
Organization (WFTO), and the company plans to expand its export destinations in
the near future..
"Having grown up watching our family and neighbours
struggling, we decided to create the ‘better life’ we were all waiting for by harnessing our
community’s incredible artisan skills and channelling them into a sustainable,
global, fair trade footwear business," said Ms Alemu.
"We selected shoes because we saw that footwear was an
excellent platform to begin to share many of the indigenous eco-sensible craft
heritages and artisan talents that we have here in Ethiopia with the world.
"It also meant that based on the approach we were taking to footwear creation – that being handcrafted and eco-sensible – that we could source and make almost ALL our materials locally, thereby creating an export product from 100% local inputs."
