By Margaret Badore, Source: Treehugger

sseko
One of our favorite eco-fashion trends is transforming garments, and Sseko’s sandals are a great example. Their first model features colorful ribbons that can be interchanged, re-tied and worn many different ways, giving the wearer a lot of style mileage for just one pair of shoes.
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he backstory behind this company is even more interesting than the shoes. The company provides employment to college-bound girls in Uganda, during the nine-month gap between the end of high school and university. This gap offers students the opportunity to make money to cover their college costs, but in East Africa there are often few opportunities for young women.

Founder Liz Bohannon said that Sseko was started in Uganda to provide young women with temporary employment to fund their college aspirations, and matches money they save. Since the company started four years ago, 36 women have gone on to college and three have graduated. Sseko alumni stay in close touch with the company, and Bohannon hopes that one day some of the women may return to run the company. There are also a handful of women employed by Sseko on a long-term basis.