About a year ago, I received an email from a sandal shop asking if I would like to review their sandals.
“Of course,” I answered excitedly. ‘You can write a review within one month of receiving it.’
“Oh, no,” Sandal Shop replied. “We would like to ask you to review our products after you have been wearing them for almost a year. We value quality over quantity and want to show that we offer the best quality and service.
We want to demonstrate the value of quality products as an alternative to cheap, disposable fast fashion.’
Well, they really caught my attention.
As a travel blogger I have never been asked to write a review based on long-term use. I never have.
And now that I think about it, isn’t that crazy?
The brands I collaborate with typically want reviews published within a few weeks. Because next month there will be new styles to review and the one you sent me last week will be ‘old’.
So, while this conversation with Sandal Shop gave me all the fluff, I’m so glad there’s a brand out there that truly focuses on promoting quality products that last. Ta.
Sustainability and fashion
Sustainability has been a big part of my life for the past few years. To be honest, it’s still very new to me and I still have a lot to learn. I have done a lot of research, reading, and taking on challenges to improve my environmental impact for myself and my family.
This was actually a lot of fun and opened my eyes to how much we waste.
And if there’s anything I’ve realized about sustainability and fashion, it’s that buying quality products is the most sustainable option. Not only that, but it’s actually cheaper.
I’m not proud of it, but I used to buy one or two new pairs of summer sandals every year. I usually buy them from cheap luxury stores for around £15, but both pairs fall apart by the end of the summer.
So I ended up buying two new pairs of shoes the following summer.
And two more times the following summer.
And where will this broken sandal go? They end up going straight to the landfill, where they sit for years.
It doesn’t seem like a big deal when you think of yourself as just one individual, but what happens when you realize there are over 67 million people in the UK? If everyone in the UK threw away two pairs of sandals every year, that would mean 134 million pairs of sandals would end up in landfill every year.
Not only is that absolutely horrifying, but it’s even more horrifying when you think about the materials and manufacturing of these products. Where does it come from? And how can you pay people a decent wage and still sell these sandals for so cheap!?
Sandal Shop
I can’t answer these questions, but I can help you with solutions. It’s all about buying quality sandals that will last!
And this is where Sandal Shop comes in.
As you might have guessed, Sandal Shop sells sandals. And the selection of sandals is also amazing.
The website is clean, simple and easy to use. There are many beautiful styles of sandals, but you can easily filter them to find the sandals that are perfect for you. You can search by brand, men’s, women’s, and kids. Or you can search by style, including flats, sliders, adjustables, leather, and sale items.
I found this website really easy to use. It’s not an overwhelming selection, but it’s a good selection (as can happen on a huge site that sells every shoe under the sun!)
Teva’s
Myself and my entire family wore Teva sandals.
Open toe sandals with adjustable straps for an easily customizable fit.
The sandals have a thick sole so they are very comfortable and soft and can be worn for long walks.
I feel like when people see these sandals, they think, “Hmm, I don’t know if I like them or not…” And they see them over and over again and suddenly you like them and want a pair!
Teva’s Universal Strapping System – Great for kids!
When it comes to children’s shoes, what I love about Teva’s strap system is that it’s very adjustable. There are three Velcro straps to tighten the sandal around the ankle, foot, and toes.
This makes them perfect for growing feet and eliminates the need to buy new sandals every time your child moves up a half size.
The Velcro straps are also easy to open and close, and you don’t have to open all three straps to put on the sandals. It can be adjusted to fit your size and can be put on and taken off by simply opening one strap.
My kids like their sandals to be super tight so they can run, climb, and clamber just like they would in running shoes!
Teva sandals are not available in toddler sizes, so Alba doesn’t have any sandals, but the boys do have their favorite sandals. They actually wear them all year round as I wear them to my weekly swimming and gymnastics classes. After that, we spent a lot of time playing on the beach, outdoors, and by the river, and we were really impressed with how durable these sandals were. I’m definitely going to give George’s child to Joseph, then to Alva, and then perhaps to another family after that.
That’s where true sustainability comes in and where we can play a real role. Teva sandals are not much more expensive than the ones you buy at the supermarket, but the quality is much better. For an extra £5, you can get a pair of sandals that you can reuse over and over again. You’ll save your family another ounce of money and you won’t have to add any more sandals to the landfill!
If you live in New Zealand and are looking for a place to buy Men’s Tevas. Here you can find men’s Tevas and men’s sandals.
The simple, timeless design
I love the design of this sandal. Super simple yet still making a bold statement, we’re sure this classic, casual design will be in style for years to come.
I wear them with everything from casual jeans and shorts, to skirts and dresses, and even wetsuits and in the ocean. The beach was really rocky so I wore it once while bodyboarding and it was fine!
I tried it for paddle boarding and I like walking barefoot to feel the wobble on the board!
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Cleaning the Teva sandals
It’s obvious that Teva sandals are very durable and hard-wearing, but that doesn’t prevent me from getting really dirty. During my time wearing them, they got dirty from general dirt, mud, tomato ketchup from a beach BBQ, and the occasional splash of red wine!
So how well do they clean?
This was a really big challenge for me. I love bright, bright colors, but if you can’t clean it easily, you probably won’t want to wear it for more than a year.
Thankfully, it was cleaned up very well!
In fact, mine sat with a red wine stain on the front for months until I finally got around to cleaning it.
I soaked it in soapy water for a few minutes.
The left sandal, which had the usual mud and everyday grime, was clean within minutes.
The one on the right with ketchup and red wine took a little more effort and I actually sprayed it with a little carpet stain remover and let it soak a little longer. I then gave it a good scrub with a scrub brush and it came out perfectly clean.
Travel Hack Tips: Here are some little Velcro hacks you may not know about. If you wear shoes with velcro and the velcro is stuck with grass, fluff, or any other kind of mud, use the sharp bit on your sellotape dispenser (the bit that cuts the sellotape) to rub the velcro and it will rub it all off. There will be grass and mud.
If you have kids who wear school shoes with Velcro, this is a great tip!
Are the Teva Originals worth the cost?
I received a lot of messages on Instagram asking if Teva Originals were worth the price. I think people think it costs more than it actually does because it actually doesn’t cost that much.
The current price is less than £40 so I 100% wholeheartedly say it’s worth every penny.
I’ve been wearing them for months and they still look like new, so I think I’ll be wearing them again all summer long. And maybe next summer and the summer after that!
Barbour Sandals
If you’re looking for a more formal and stylish pair of sandals, we can’t recommend these gorgeous Barbour sandals from Sandal Shop highly enough.
I had a lot of questions about these sandals, as they often appear on my blog. I wore it during a cruise last October, and it was also used on this packing reel.
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post shared by Monica | Travel Blogger (@thetravelhack)
In fact, I didn’t wear these sandals during the coldest of winters, but when I wore them again this spring, I was so happy to see the buttery softness back on my feet.
I forgot how soft and comfortable they are. That’s something you’ll never get with cheap disposable sandals!
They are also very comfortable sandals that can be worn with any outfit, whether it’s to work, shopping, vacation, exploring a new city, going out for drinks, the beach, or a school run. I won’t be hiking in the mountains in these, but they’re definitely comfortable enough for long walks.
I went on a 7-day cruise last October and wore these sandals for most of the trip. It was perfect for exploring Athens, strolling the streets of Valencia, and going from the city to the beaches of Palma. They were also perfect for going out for drinks or dinner on nights when you don’t want to wear heels.
As someone who is short, I also really like the thick sole!
Sandal Shop
Barbour Gabbie sandals are still available from Sandal Shop in black and a beautiful cognac color. Similar styles are available, although sizes are limited.
The exact Teva sandals I have are no longer available, but I do have a very similar pair in terms of color. Mine is a mid-form universal sandal and I love the chunky sole.
We’ll be adding more Teva sandals to our Sandal Shop next month, so keep an eye out!
The boys have Teva children’s hurricane sandals and I’m definitely going to buy them again when George gets older.
A huge thank you to Sandal Shop for sponsoring this post and giving us the opportunity to showcase sustainable brands and the little things we can do to help the environment and save money!
