Almost 30 years ago, Source introduced a new product to the outdoor community by launching the first hiking sandal in the world. The unique design of the Adventure sandal – today still sold in almost identical design as the Classic SOURCE Sandal – laid the ground for many innovations to come and a still growing range of models.
Selling off the first sandals was not easy. Shop owners did not really know where to put the unknown footwear. Yoki and Danielle, the founders of SOURCE, tried their luck with different shops and distributors, with mixed results. Then they made a deal with the Israeli Society for the Protection of Nature: every employee of the organization could get a pair of sandals with a discount of 15%.
When about 300 workers purchased Source sandals in the following days, the product started to get attention and soon the rumor about the new footwear spread like a wildfire. The second summer season was pure madness, with shop owners lining up every morning in front of the SOURCE studio in order to fill their trucks with the sandals that had been manufactured the day before.
Spurred by this success, Yoki and Danielle continued to further develop the sandals. While the X-Strap patent and the fundamental concept of the sandals are unchanged since the first model, other significant innovations and improvements were added to the design of the Source Sandals …
Advanced Rubber Technology
In collaborration with Dr. Dan Zimmerman, Director of the Rubber and Plastics Institute at the Technion, SOURCE developed the sole for the sandals. The aim was to develop a rubber mixture twice as durable as a car tire, which would not leave black spots on tiled floors while having the best possible grip on wet, smooth stones. A lot of research and many experiments were conducted towards finding the right material with the adquate coefficient of friction. The composition of the rubber sole has remained unchanged since it was developed in the labs of the technion with the help of Dr. Zimmerman.
Triple Layer Sole
While most sandals in the market were designed with two soles, Source took a new approach: three separate layers – foot contact, cushioning and ground contact. This triple-layer composition allows for fine-tuned parameters, such as grip, durability, shock absorption and weight. The result is the SOURCE sandal with its perfectly balanced properties.
Odor Controlled Footbed
Source was a pioneer in the creation of an antibacterial sole that prevents the development of bad odors. Together with Dr. Patacci from the Stiga factory, who has been with Source since day one, Yoki found a technological solution that almost completely solves the problem: a FDA approved and EPA-registered anti-microbial agent integrated permanently in the upper soles of the sandals. Within years, other sandals manufacturers followed, using the same approach.
Fast Drying Polypropylene Straps
Source was the first company to combine polypropylene textile with the jacquard weaving technology. When no manufacturer was found to deliver the material envisioned by Yoki and Danielle, they decided to take the task in their own hands and persuaded the Shiltex factory at Kibbutz Shiller to try to weave polypropylene threats on jacquard machines. For weeks, the Shiltex factory ran experiments and trials, and finally successfully created the fast drying PP straps.
ID Number
In order to achieve maximum transparency and full quality control in the manufacturing process, Source stamps an ID number under the logo of each sandal. This way, Source can retrace the journey of each product, including which material was used, which employee worked on the seaming, the sole, etc. Striving for the highest possible quality in our line of production, enables SOURCE to inspect and manage issues that may occur.
Today, the SOURCE Sandals product range features a wide variety of sandals for different purpose and use: for fun outdoor activites and long hikes, for elegant city strolls and fun nights out, for men, women and kids. The ongoing commitment to improvement and advancement has led to the development of unprecedented technologies and features, which make Source sandals unique, durable and iconic.
