When our founders Roth and Stephen set out to turn plastic bottles into shoes, they endeavored to create a timelessly stylish shoe that perfected comfort and design—while drastically reducing the excess produced by traditional shoemaking. They built our business model on the highly efficient manufacturing made possible by a wholly owned factory. That’s why our production capabilities today are unlike anything else in the industry. 

From the first day Rothy’s was founded, it took 3.5 years of research and development to launch our first product. That’s how long it took to perfect our knit-to-shape technique, which is the foundation of our sustainable practice. 

Our 100% owned factory and vendor integration is a model for modern manufacturing. It puts us in a unique position to eliminate the staggering waste and overproduction that makes fashion a leading contributor to climate change. Our owned factory empowers greater sustainability at every step, from a cleaner supply chain to happy working conditions. 

At Rothy’s, we’re one global team sharing best industry practices, from our San Francisco HQ to our factory in Dongguan. Our factory team enjoys best-in-class factory benefits and a wellness-focused workshop environment, which has resulted in an exceptionally high retention rate. 

Our industry-first manufacturing process starts with a machine programmed to knit our bags and the uppers of our shoes to their exact shape. The result? We avoid the 30% material waste that is so common in traditional cut and sew production.

Once the machine works its magic, our skilled artisans craft
the rest by hand. Each piece is finished individually with love, from the thoughtful design elements like polished hardware to the hand-embroidered Rothy’s logo on every style.

Rothy’s shoe boxes are strong enough to ship on their own—no
box-in-box packaging waste here. Our cardboard inserts are made from 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard content, and they’re fully recyclable. To top it off: Our signature blue ribbon is made from recycled materials, too. 

Our recyclable inner wrap paper is made with more than 30% post-consumer recycled content—and it’s Forest Stewardship Council-Certified.

Because we own our factory, we can match our output to the demand for products at every step in the supply chain, resulting in significantly less waste. And through smarter packaging and shipping, we estimate having saved hundreds of thousands of pounds of cardboard per year.

To date, we've offset more than 74 million pounds of carbon emissions by partnering with Carbonfund.org and Pachama, two organizations that fund forestry conservation, protection, and restoration projects.