EVA, (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) is some incredibly versatile stuff. It’s the elasticized polymer foam material used in most footwear to add support, structure, and cushioning. It’s incredibly versatile as it can be molded, dyed, cut, and shaped into just about any configuration. It’s incredibly inexpensive compared to the other materials used in footwear such as leather or rubber, and it’s darn easy to get good at working with it!

But it’s not all roses for this wonder material.  EVA doesn’t break-down naturally and so it’s filling landfills across the globe with a product that doesn’t jive with nature. The manufacturing of EVA is a toxic process, and even though EVA scraps and used EVA can be recycled into new EVA – it’s not at all a green process.

So what do we do? Eco-foam alternatives do exist, however they are cost prohibitive for many products and smaller brands, do not share the same performance characteristics as traditional EVA, and/or are difficult to source.  Is that a cop-out? Sort-of...  Does Common Soles use EVA in many of its current flip-flops – yes. Are we seeking a quality alternative – YES!

We aren’t the only ones out there with this quandary. Some brands have engineered around using EVA, but guess what – those products just don’t cut it compared to their EVA counterparts.  So what do we do? This is the challenge to the footwear industry.

Let’s work together to create an alternative to EVA which is not only eco-friendly, but offers superior handling and performance characteristics as well. Our planet can’t handle the thousands and thousands of tons of this product we keep dumping in it every year. We are so close.

-Dave