These very contemporary and urban style necklaces are made from … recycled flip-flops! They are light, totally waterproof, and very, very cool. Throw several on at once for a statement necklace, or just one single strand for minimal chic.
They are recycled from discarded shoes, collected by women of the Bozo people in Mopti and Djenne, Mali. While the Bozo people had always lived off fishing, the devastating decline in the river’s fish stocks meant they had to turn to other sources of income.
Fighting pollution and creating economic security.
Seeing all the broken or worn out Tapettes (plastic shoes) and flip flops laying around, the women began to bring them back to their homes to recycle them.
They wash and cut up the shoes into small pieces. The pieces are skewered onto an iron stick and then warmed over a charcoal fire. As they melt, the crafters twist them quickly around the stick to create different lengths, that they then join together whilst still malleable, to create links, bracelets and necklace lengths.
