Tredagain Guadalupe Sandal

Tredagain not only makes quality shoes, but they are environmentally aware while they make great footwear.

Occasionally, I get the awesome opportunity to review products in exchange for an honest review. This time, I had the pleasure of testing out a pair of sandals by Tredagain! The Tredagain Guadalupe Sandal rocks out on their specialty...recycled rubber from tires.

Here is a quote from their site about what they do:

"TREDAGAIN partners with Austin Rubber Company LLC which manufactures a de-vulcanized rubber compound called APX®. Using an environmentally friendly, patented process, this sustainable solution converts end-of-life tires and other vulcanized scrap rubber into a less expensive substitute for virgin rubber, which can be used in a variety of new products including the outsoles of TREDAGAIN."

Isn't that cool!?

I love the philosophy, and I loved some things about the shoes too…

1. The soles are solid. Just what you'd expect from a tire. And the sole is imprinted with "tire tread", thus re-enforcing and reminding the consumer about what the shoes are all about.
2. While this isn't the lightest weight shoe I've tried on, it feels as if it will last a long time. It's got substance to it. Not a "dime store" purchase...you'll get some wear out of these.
3. They are very compatible and comfortable with my toe socks! It was colder outside when I tried these out, so I took my toe socks and voila! They were great!
4. They use post-consumer waste to make their packaging. This just gets better and better!

The only thing that I was minorly concerned about is that they might take some time to break in without socks. I felt a few rub spots when I tried them on barefoot, but most new sandals rub on your feet in spots you didn't know existed, so I suspect my tootsies just need time to adjust to the new feel of this sandal.