Rainbow Sandals
 | |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Jay "Sparky" Longley |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Sandals |
| Website | www |
Rainbow Sandals Inc. was established in 1974 in Laguna Beach, California by Jay Longley and is currently based in San Clemente, California. The company specializes in men's and women's leather, hemp, and rubber flip-flops.
When Longley first started making sandals,[1] he was assembling 15 pairs per day out of leather and Malaysian rubber in the garage of his Laguna Beach home.[2] He relocated to San Clemente in 1974 and began manufacturing 1,200 pairs of sandals a day. Since 2002, Longley had to move 75% of production to China because of a solvent in the glue he uses. Longley had to install a catalytic oxidizer at his San Clemente factory that scrubs all the volatile organic compounds out of the glue before they are emitted into the air. He is legally permitted to make only 1,000 pairs per day in San Clemente. In China, they use a glue without volatile organic compounds. Longley cannot use this glue in California because it is too combustible under the fire code.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Luppi, Kathleen (31 May 2015). "Rainbow Sandals founder's heart and sole are in flip-flops". LA Times.
- ^ "The Morning Read: He's caught up in sandal". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ "Rainbows Owner: 3 of 4 Sandals Made in China Because of EPA Regs". patch.com. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Edelhauser, Kristin (July 26, 2007). "Staying One Step Ahead". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
- Bellantonio, Jennifer (December 31, 2007). "Rainbow Sandals Goes Upscale; $50M in Sales. APPAREL: Sandal maker counts 80 local workers; more stores due". San Diego Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
- Nguyen, Hang (21 Apr 2006). "$7 billion sandal industry is in midst of one of its prime selling seasons". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2008-07-27.