Sisi Nxumalo left a stable job in digital media to become an entrepreneur in 2016. After a few years in business, she was on a quest to find stylish and comfortable traditional footwear for her non-Zulu husband. This led to the founding of a sustainable footwear brand SoulShooz. In 2023, SoulShooz was a finalist in the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards Footwear category. Nobanzi Sokhuthu caught up with Sisi to ask her a few questions.
Tell us about SoulShooz?
SoulShooz started off as an idea which then developed into a business. We were not looking to start a business, however, we created a product for which there was demand, and so we continued. In 2020, my partner and I were invited to a wedding and I wanted us to match, clothing wise. We would be wearing traditional sandals, Imbadada. They are known to be extremely uncomfortable at first. But, as you wear them and over time they become comfortable. Being Zulu, I knew this but my partner did not and he refused to wear something that was uncomfortable. In an effort to make him wear the sandals, I told him that they were eco-friendly. He said something can’t just be eco-friendly, it needs to be comfortable, stylish, eco-friendly and accessible. The consumer is already spoiled for choice. They won’t buy something simply because it is eco-friendly.
Did you want to participate in the green economy?
The idea behind the brand is for us to make yesterday’s culture fit today. We want to share our culture and the love of African cultures with everyone. SoulShooz shoes are modelled after the traditional Zulu sandals, Imbadada, which are made from up-cycled tyres. We didn’t specifically want to participate in the green economy, we just wanted to share a cultural icon which happens to be green.
Tell us about the seatbelt material used in your new SoulShooz Eco-X collection.
We use various up-cycled materials to make SoulShooz. The seatbelt SoulShooz (Eco X collection) came about when we were looking for additional off cuts and end-of-life materials that otherwise would go to landfill. We found a factory that sells b-grade seat belts which means they are rejects: they cannot be used anywhere and do not meet automobile industry standards. All our materials are locally sourced in South Africa.
Why is used tyre tread good for soles?
Used tyres are a great option and material for our soles because they pay homage to the original Zulu sandal and they are very strong and readily available. We pay waste reclaimers to find and collect waste tyres.
Why is it important to consider social and cultural contexts in your designs?
At SoulShooz we believe that culture is not stagnant, a culture is fluid and although it may represent one group of people, it does not purely belong to that one group of people. We believe that culture is meant to be shared and celebrated. We have made shoes that although represent and identify a certain culture, they are shared and celebrated with everyone. We feel that sometimes it’s difficult to identify with the culture but we use our shoes as a segue and a conversation starter to share culture and community.
What is your vision for SoulShooz?
My vision is to create sustainable employment for the youth. We currently rent a small factory but we are on track to open a bigger SoulShooz factory.
Why should we up-cycle?
It is your choice to care about upcycling. It should not be something that is forced on the consumer or on the business owner. You should want to make the world a better place. For us up-cycling is important because tyres are a huge waste problem. We felt it was our responsibility to not only use SoulShooz to showcase our culture but to show that culturally many of us have been up-cycling whether we were aware of it or not. African cultures by nature are respectful to nature so we wanted to show this and make people aware that upcycling is not a western construct. It existed in Africa long before we had or used the words “eco-friendly” or “upcycling”.
What advice can you offer other more ‘sustainable’ brands?
I think sustainability and being a sustainable brand is a journey so we keep innovating. We don’t know if we will ever be completely sustainable, because we rely on third-party suppliers and can’t always control their businesses. So for us and our business, we definitely look to be more sustainable and hope we can go as far as possible.
If you were to choose another career path, what would it be and why?
My calling is cultural and impact entrepreneurship so I’m not sure if I would choose another career path.
- Images: Supplied
- Find out more about SoulShooz here