Havaianas, the Brazilian flip-flop brand, has pledged to collect and recycle 10 per cent of total retail sales in flip-flops across the Asia Pacific by 2030 as part of its ReCycle initiative.
Havaianas says the move is part of a broader strategic goal towards achieving a more sustainable future. By 2030, all of the brand’s mono-brand stores in Asia will have collection locations, making recycling flip-flops easy for customers.
Customers can recycle their old Havaianas by placing them in ReCycle bins placed in Havaianas stores. The collected footwear will be delivered to a local recycling partner to be converted into a new eco-friendly product, such as rubber playground flooring for use in schools, sporting facilities like running tracks, or turned into home and office accessories like mouse pads and table mats.
“We believe in a world without strings and in the power of renewal – we are only free when the world is too,” said Robert Esser, president of Alpargatas for Apac and China.
“Our ambitions extend beyond the planet, to people too, as nothing is more liberating than a colourful and comfortable environment where everyone can express their unique way of life.”
The ReCycle initiative was first launched in Australia last October and has since been expanded into Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. Taiwan and New Zealand will follow next year.
Havaianas is also supporting environmental causes, with 7 per cent of net sales of its IPE and CI collections to be given to projects for biodiversity conservation and restoration.
Earlier this year – despite the impact of Covid on cross-border travel – Havaianas’ parent company Alpargatas reaped the rewards of a three-year-old international expansion strategy, reporting revenues of $739 million, a 25.7 per cent increase over 2020. Outside of its home market of Brazil, net revenue increased by 41.5 per cent to US$227 million.
