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Kenyan boat builder Ali Skanda launched his Flipflopi boat, made entirely from several tons worth of waste plastic and covered in 30,000 discarded flip flops, into the Indian Ocean this month. The boat aims to inspire a #PlasticRevolution: promoting innovative recycling technologies eliminating single-use plastics. The Flipflopi boat will now sail from Lamu in Kenya, 5,000km down the African coast to Cape Town in South Africa. As part of the expedition, the team will organize beach cleanups and visit schools and environmental projects.

Some thoughts when planning your next eco-innovations:

- We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: watch African eco-innovations and you’ll witness some of the most innovative and impactful environmental initiatives on the planet. Indeed Flipflopi’s Kenyan origins are no surprise, as Kenya does not play around when it comes to the environment: the nation has the world’s harshest penalties (up to USD 19,000!) for using single-use plastic bags! 

- Eco-innovations can be either focused on preventing waste, or dealing with existing waste. Both are important, but given that there are 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic on this planet (91% of which isn’t recycled :() - then it’s clear how important finding innovative second-use solutions is. We recently featured roads in Ghana made from plastic bags. Can your brand find a way to give ‘rubbish’ a good second use?

- The greatest innovations aren’t just created - they inspire others to participate and create, too. Flipflopi’s #PlasticRevolution movement, crowdfunded expedition, and sharing of its boat-building techniques all fit the bill. Instead of just talking about your next big eco-innovation, why not invite, encourage and enable others to replicate it themselves?!