Beginning this year, parts of Rafters Footwear sandals will be made from recycled water bottles, said an October 18 story in the Oregon Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon student newspaper.
The shoe company, headquartered here, was looking for a positive way to help the environment. The recycled materials will be used for the tops of the sandals.
The company looked into the idea about a year ago. Company President Bill Combs said in the story that when the bottles are melted down, “you can extrude the fiber and it's almost pure poly fiber. It’s a great material to reuse or recycle because you don’t have to touch it, if you will, because it’s so pure.”
Combs said the process of using the recycled bottles will at first be 40 percent more expensive than conventional manufacturing methods, but he believes that as more manufacturers adopts such methods, costs will come down, according to the story.
The recycled bottles will come from Taiwan and the sandals will be manufactured in China.
Rafters shoes are sold at 1,500 outlets throughout the United States.
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