GreenSoul Shoes: One Million Shoes in 5 Years

By: ninalubrano | Published: May 22, 2009 | Filed under: Shiner profiles, Sunshine Suites

the greensoul team

“One Million Shoes in Five Years!” is a sign hanging in the TriBeCa Office of Sunshine Suites’ Shiners Green Soul Shoes – it is also the company’s ambitious and altruistic goal.

GreenSoul Shoes is a company with a socially conscience heart. These former investment bankers are using the same strategies they used in their executive positions on Wall Street to change the way the world thinks about consumption, recycling and the indigenous markets of the developing world.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal , Stephen Chen describes the GreenSoul business model which creates a global marketplace for third world shoemakers to sell their shoes. For every shoe sold, one is given to a child in that same community.

They are launching their first partnership in Southeast Asia where the sandals are made from 100% recycled rubber taken from truck tires.

They feature thick durable soles and elastic straps made from inner tubes. They use no glue or stitching, these comfortable and attractive sandals are produced in a way that improves social and environmental standards.

The idea started when attorney and serial entrepreneur Al Onglingswan was on vacation in the Philippines. Bored with the typical tourist attractions, Onglingswan opted to explore the interior of Manila solo. There, he was moved by the thousands of children picking through enormous garbage dumps, searching for anything of value they could sell for food.

Barefoot, these orphans risk serious injury and infection from the millions of pieces of broken glass, shards of metal, and hypodermic needles discarded in the dump.

When he returned to the United States Onglingswan vowed to do everything he could to help provide shoes for these children.

For most, the economic crisis that befell Wall Street in past few months was well, a crisis. For the Green Soul Team the recent layoffs at financial giants Bear Sterns and JP Morgan Chase enabled Onglingswan’s big idea to get off the ground.

Stephen Chen, a former VP of Business Strategy at Bear Sterns, and Iris Chau, a former VP of Equity Research at JP Morgan Chase joined Onglingswan after both were laid off from their respective positions.

Together the three got to work on a business model to serve multiple stakeholders. In an interview with Reuters, Stephen Chen explains GreenSoul Shoe’s Strategy: “Implement the same businesses techniques, stewardship and operations that you learn in a regular business and apply it in a socially conscience one.”

These former investment bankers are also creating new allegiances between private and public organizations. Green Soul is working as a bridge between for-profit companies like Sketchers and the world’s leading NGOs such as UNICEF to provide a package of “goods” to the world’s most fragile populations.

To see pictures and pre-order your pair of Green Soul Shoes Click Here!!

The group has already received orders from over 20 distributors and have been profiled by many major news outlets including the New York Times. The group orignially created a buzz about their idea with low cost viral marketing and email campaigns. The GreenSoul Team used recession appropriate marketing strategies to do more than sell their award winning business model, they brought awareness to the plight of thousands of children in need. .

Green Soul Shoes has been part of the Sunshine Community for almost six months. For more information about the Green Soul Team, and their shoes visit their website. .