Rainbow Sandals Inc. was established in 1974 in Laguna Beach, California

Laguna Beach, California

Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city and artist community located in southern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southwest of the county seat of Santa Ana...

 by Jay "Sparky" Longley and is currently based out of San Clemente, California

San Clemente, California

San Clemente is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 63,522 at the 2010 census. Located on the California Coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego at the southern tip of the county, it is known for its ocean, hill, and mountain views, a pleasant climate and its Spanish...

. The company specializes in men's and women's leather, hemp

Hemp

Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

, and rubber flip-flops.

When Longley first started making sandal

Sandal

Sandals are an open type of outdoor footwearSandal may also refer to:* Sandal Castle, site of the Battle of Wakefield in the Wars of the Roses* Sandal, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England* Sandal, Afghanistan* Šandal, village in Slovakia...

s, he was assembling 15 pairs per day out of leather and Malaysian rubber in the garage of his Laguna Beach home. He relocated to San Clemente in 1975 and began manufacturing 1,200 pairs of sandals a day. Since 2002, the majority of the sandals have been produced by a factory that houses over 3,000 workers in China.

Rainbow sandals are unisex sandals that were only sold and distributed all over California before it became a popular demand. Now, the availability has spread all throughout the world and as far as Australia. Rainbow sandals are generally regarded as high-end flip-flops (as opposed to ordinary foam rubber ones that usually hurt your feet with long wear) due to their construction with leather, ranging in price from $16 - $90. A regular pair usually cost about 50 dollars, depending on the tax. The high end Rainbow Sandals are decorated with diamond crystals on both of the straps for the pleasure of owning a pair of "pretty" sandals. Rainbow Sandals are available online and at department and specialty stores nationwide, the original factory store in San Clemente, and two company-owned retail stores in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.
Rainbow Sandals also offers many different types of footwear for a wide range of prices as low as $16 SaleItems. The product offerings have also increased from just sandals to include Shoes and Boots. Leather is not the only material they have available. for the environmentally minded they also provide a line of hemp products. For those that are opposed to natural animal hides they offer synthetic materials as an alternative.

Recent additions to the product offerings include a line of college branded sandals and shoes. Some colleges included in these products include;

North Carolina State

University of North Carolina Wilmington

University of Southern California

Texas A & M

University of California LA

University of Florida

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Rainbow Sandals is very active in Supporting the Beach Lifestyle and preserving the oceans. Rainbow Sandals has sponsored numerous Standup Paddling (SUP) Events in both Hawaii and Southern California. Dubbed the "Battle of the Pud", these events provide a showcase for manufacturers and for competitors to further the sport of Standup paddling.
On May 14th and 15th of 2011 the Battle of the Paddle will once again be held at the Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Ft. De Russy Beach Park, HI.