It's becoming a regular Zoo at the Knudsens! First Bunchiya (the bird) settled in, who was followed by Michaelangelo (the dog). Now our latest animal addition @home is Flip Flop the Elephant! Paige first noticed Flip Flop in San Francisco 2 months ago. Paige said: "Hey, look! It could be "the elephant in the room!" When I was in the city last week the elephant looked so forlorn (1 tusk barely hanging on), what could I do but adopt him!
Flip Flop has a unique history! In 1997, two women began collecting flip flops washing up on the beaches of northeast Kenya and turning them into toys.
Dubbed The Flip Flop Project, it helps alleviate 3 problems. First, the recycled flip flop crafts creates jobs for the locals. Second, it cleans up beaches dependent on tourism revenue. Third, eliminating debris on the beaches helps the marine wildlife ecosystem thrive! A win-win-win situation!
UniquEco joined forces with the project and pays women and teenagers a fair living wage to collect flip flops from the Lamu beaches. The flip flops are delivered to Nairobi and UniquEco employees cut them into straight edges and glue them together to form a large block. From these blocks they carve key chains, jewelry, placemats, and wildlife animals in a variety of sizes. A 15 foot tall Giraffe sculpture, Twiga, was on display at Rome's Fashion Week. I'd love to acquire Twiga; our zoo could use a giraffe!
"Cleaning up the oceans and improving lives with handcrafted recycled products that brighten life with unique beautiful and educational items made from washed up, discarded rubber and plastic waste." -UniquEco's Motto
