Brave Soles: Combining Fashion and Sustainability

Clothes, shoes, and accessories may make up a significant portion of our daily routine, but they are also a major contributor to pollution and waste. That's why we believe fashion can be fair to all. But to do that, we need to think differently about the power of our choices.

Our story actually started long before those tire soles became attached to our (if we do say so ourselves) beautiful sandals ;) It started in the most unlikely of places: landfills around the world.

As the founder of an international youth humanitarian organization, our founder, Christal Duncan Earle, had been working and learning from a local community of garbage dump workers since 2005 on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Among everything else in that garbage dump, there was also an overwhelming amount of tires. They were a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases and the tires themselves were toxic nightmares.

In 2010, an unexpected turn of events in Christal’s journey left her facing the fact that she would have to rebuild her life between two countries. She was now torn between Canada, where her career was based, and the Dominican Republic where her adopted daughter couldn’t leave.

In early 2017, the idea struck for the first time. Why not repurpose tires for soles on beautiful handmade shoes - and create a way to help the most vulnerable people in the process?

The brand’s mission is clear: to make circular fashion fair for all of us. The ability to shop sustainably shouldn’t be reserved for a select few people. A fair and just world includes everyone: from the makers to the customers, everyone should be paid fairly and pay a fair price for what they own. All of our products are handcrafted with sustainable materials like upcycled tires, discarded leather from furniture manufacturers, and airplane seats.

By being sustainable and ethical, Brave Soles is addressing a crucial social and environmental need. All of our footwear and accessories are unique, stylish, and high-quality. We believe that fashion and sustainability can coexist, and we are proving that it is possible.

The ability to ask a different question has led us on this journey that continues to expand and grow. It's not just our story nor a tire's story. This is the story of people like you: people who know they want to be proud of their choices. Our team ebbs and flows and covers many generations of people from many different parts of the world, but our belief in this endures.

Ultimately, we want our customers and fans to love the story behind what they own.