Soles of Soy S OY B E A N O I L S U P P O R TS E CO - F R I E N D LY, M A D E - I N -A M E R I C A F O OT W E A R
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he typical flip-flop sandal is like the straw of the footwear world. It’s used for a short amount of time and then tossed. But unlike the straw used to bed livestock that will decompose, discarded plastic and foam sandals are bound for oceans and landfills. One U.S. shoe manufacturer has designed a shoe to solve this issue — and soybean oil is a major part of the solution. Durable and 100% recyclable Okabashi sandals are 45% U.S. soy by weight. “Here at Okabashi Brands, we made the choice to go with a soy-based compound for our shoes because it aligns with our
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commitment to sustainability and manufacturing domestically,” says Okabashi President Kim Falkenhayn. According to the Georgia-based Okabashi — one of the remaining 2% of shoe manufacturers still operating domestically — less than 1% of shoes worn in the U.S. today are made in America. But just like any business, the solution must also make logistic and financial sense. The company says soybean oil checks all the boxes for the footwear’s needs, allowing them to switch from a petroleum-based product to a biobased product that fits their brand better.
BY LAUREN HOUSKA
“There are a couple of things that make soybean oil a good fit for our plasticizer,” Falkenhayn says. “For one, the addition of soybean oil helped the product meet all of our specifications — from softness to strength. On top of that, soy is grown on a large scale in the U.S. It’s available anytime we need it at any quantity we require.”
From farm to factory
April Hemmes, a soybean farmer from Hampton, says every little bit helps when it comes to driving demand for soybean oil. Hemmes is an ISA District 2 director and a director on United Soybean Board (USB).
