Fashion

Need some cool summer flip-flops? These are made from palm leaves.

That almost everything with palm trees is hotter than hot, our shopping editor Lilian already knew how to proclaim. here Because she spots the trendy shizzle of the moment first and the tropical trend is in full swing.

Ever heard of the Areca palm by the way? That’s a palm tree that grows in the southern part of India. Every year, 80 million leaves fall off, which were never used for anything… And that’s quite a shame, the people behind the Californian surf brand O’Neill must have thought. Therefore, they designed a super cool slipper line made of, yes, palm leather, in collaboration with Tjeerd Veenhoven. “Because nature is our playground and we must protect it,” said the founder of O’Neill. Wise words.

”At the same time, a lot of local Indian workers are being helped.”

Tjeerd Veenhoven managed to transform the palm leaves into palm laminate after four years of research and voilà: the palm slippers became a reality.. A slipper with a toe strap named ‘Chelsea’ and a sandal with a crossed strap named ‘Sophie’, and for 79.95 euros, you really can’t pass these up for this summer.

And what makes the Tree of Life Project so cool? A lot of local Indian workers are being helped at the same time, because for every collected palm leaf, they get paid. This means that the lovely little palm tree also turns out to be of vital importance for the poorest communities. I tell you: the palm tree is going to conquer the world. Maybe even through your slipper.