It takes a whole lot of love and care to create each pair of Rothy’s. And we really mean a lot. Since we own and operate our sustainable factory in Dongguan, China, only the Rothy’s family—and no other manufacturers—touch our shoes during production. This is a rare accomplishment in the footwear industry, and we’re so proud of the collaboration between our design and production teams in San Francisco and Dongguan. Their dedication to teamwork and innovation is part of what makes every pair so special.
Once our China workshop receives the programming file from our team in San Francisco, they identify any needs for tooling or lasts (aka, manufacturing mechanisms) then create them at the workshop. After the design is locked in, the team begins to knit the upper. This is where they can really experiment with color, exploring a range of Pantone hues that work best on our unique thread made from recycled plastic water bottles.
Our innovative knit machines are programmed to precise size levels, which means we dramatically reduce waste on our production line. The upper assembly includes a heel counter, which gives the heels of our shoes structure and flexibility. Since Rothy’s are knit to shape, the final uppers are seamless and therefore extra-comfortable.
When wearing Rothy’s, you may consider the outsoles just the part of the shoe that pounds the pavement. However, they’re impressive in their own right. Firstly, they do not contain any carbon and are made from nontoxic rubber. Secondly, they’re a special way for us to incorporate color into our designs. Depending on the silhouette, we either inject or compress color into the outsole mold, meaning we have full control over the color output.
After the uppers and outsoles are complete, our workshop team quite literally takes things into their own hands. Uppers and outsoles are attached through a strobel construction, which is done by hand. Strobel is a highly technical stitching technique that reduces the amount of adhesive needed in construction. One person does this by hand for each and every shoe, and our strobel team consists of eight talented stitchers.
The finishing touch, our cushy insoles, come next. Created in the inspiring embroidery room of our China workshop, the insoles are made from recycled materials, including scraps collected during the outsole creation process. Once they’re ready, the insoles are slipped into their perfect match—a corresponding shoe.
Voilà! After dozens of careful steps in San Francisco and China, our beautifully designed, incredibly comfortable shoes are complete. All that’s left to do is place them into their sturdy shoe boxes that ship directly (no box-in-box packaging waste) right to your door. From our hands to your feet, Rothy’s are crafted with love.
