California is synonymous with sandals and bikes, so it only made sense for Bay Area company Rottua to combine the two. Creating unique sandals out of old bike tires and tubes, Rottua will remind you of those fabulous days spent riding through the Golden State, whether you are a roadie, mountain biker, or cyclocross fanatic.
Rottua, short for "Recycle Old Tires to Use Again", works with a network of Bay Area bike stores to collect old bike tires and tubes to either reuse, repurpose, or recycle. Reusable tires are donated to local charities through the Bike Exchange program, parts of tires and tubes are repurposed into sandal straps, and rubber is extracted from worn out bike tires to create the base of a new pair of sandals.
All bike tire sandals are handmade in San Jose, California. Constructed mainly out of repurposed or recycled rubber, the footbed and underside of the straps are lined with Vegan friendly performance microfiber. You can choose from numerous different styles, all sporting straps that identify with virtually every type of bike discipline, even the vintage clad fixie riding hipster.
Started last year by Jason Figone and Joe Armstrong, Rottua has expanded the repurposing program to include such items as bike boxes turned into sandal packaging. As less than 50% of bike tires and tubes are currently kept out of landfills, the company hopes to build more awareness, working with other cities to start their own local recycling programs.
The Rottua bike tire sandals retail for $79.99 and can be purchased from the company website.
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