Most sustainable footwear brands lead with a promise and hide the materials. A Gumbies review is more interesting than that, because the materials are the pitch: recycled rubber outsoles, jute fibre reinforcement, cotton canvas straps and, on one model, a foam footbed made from algae.
Gumbies describes itself simply as footwear "made with recycled & natural materials," selling slippers, flip-flops, sliders and shoes. The Instagram bio adds the origin story — "eco-friendly footwear, inspired by Australia and worn around the world." Here is an honest look at what that actually means underfoot.
Gumbies review: what the brand is and where it came from
Gumbies is an Australian-inspired eco footwear brand with a US store, a fairly small following of around 6,800 on Instagram, and a catalogue that is far more focused than most people expect. Almost everything sits in two families: flip-flops and slippers.
The naming tells you where the brand's head is. The Ossa Low slipper is named after Mount Ossa, Tasmania's highest peak. The Cairns flip-flop is named, in the brand's words, after "the beautiful town situated at the gateway to Australia's Great Barrier reef." The Islander is the year-round core model. It is outdoor-Australia branding applied to footwear you mostly wear at the back door, on the sand, or between the car and the water.
The brand's tagline is "Take the first step to adventure," and it asks customers to share their trips under the hashtag #GumbiesJourneys. That community angle is doing real work for a brand this size.
Gumtread: the one component everything is built on
If you take one technical detail from this review, make it this one. Nearly every Gumbies product rides on the same signature Gumtread outsole, and the brand is unusually consistent about describing it.
On the Islander, Gumbies says the Gumtread recycled rubber outsoles "are flexible, durable, and provide a tire-like grip for whatever terrain you might encounter," and that "biodegradable jute fibres reinforce and preserve the integrity of the rubber, so the adventure keeps on going year after year." On the Cairns, the same outsole is credited with providing "grip and stability."
Two things stand out. First, this is recycled rubber doing a structural job rather than appearing as a token green material in a midsole nobody sees. Second, the jute reinforcement is a genuine engineering answer to the classic recycled-rubber problem, which is that recycled compounds can be less durable than virgin ones.
The practical result is a flip-flop with more grip than the drugstore variety. That matters on wet decking, boat ramps and the tiled bit between a pool and a changing room, which is where most flip-flop accidents actually happen.
The range, model by model
The Islander: the model that defines the brand
The Islander Flip-Flops are the Gumbies core, and the range is deep: Lime Hibiscus, Leopard Print, Blueberry Burst, Blush Hibiscus, Palm Leaf Grey, Palm Leaf Khaki, Dotty, Blue Surf, Blue Palmetto, Tricolor Black, and a Limited Edition 20th Anniversary Special. Several come in both men's and women's fits.
Gumbies frames the Islander as footwear "developed with a passion for outdoor life now and for the future," providing "the freedom of minimalistic footwear while ultimately protecting the soles." Beyond the Gumtread outsole, the detail that matters day to day is the strap: the brand uses "soft cotton canvas for both our toe posts and strap linings."
That is the correct thing to obsess over. Toe-post chafe is the single most common reason a pair of flip-flops gets abandoned after one holiday, and lining the toe post rather than leaving bare rubber against skin is the fix.
Browse the current Islander colourways if you want to see how wide the range runs.
The Vegovert: the most interesting pair in the catalogue
The Vegovert is where Gumbies stops being a conventional flip-flop brand. Gumbies describes it as a flip-flop "where sustainability meets instant comfort," built around "the soft brushed Bloom foam footbed, crafted from organic matter derived from algae."
The brand says this material "offers exceptional comfort and reflects our commitment to sustainability by repurposing natural resources responsibly," and that the Vegovert is explicitly "vegan and eco-friendly" — kind, in its words, to the planet and animals.
The reason to care is comfort rather than ideology. An algae-derived foam footbed is a fundamentally different feel from a rubber-and-canvas flip-flop: softer underfoot, more forgiving on hard surfaces, and better suited to long walking days. If you have ever found traditional flip-flops punishing after a few hours, this is the model to try first.
For the wider context on what vegan labelling means in footwear and clothing, our guide to vegan fashion brands unpacks the terminology.
Slippers: the Ossa Low
The Ossa Low Slipper is the brand's cold-weather answer, and Gumbies is refreshingly clear about the concept: it "blends rugged durability with luxurious comfort," with "a plush faux fur lining" delivering "warmth and softness in every step."
The clever part is the sole. Gumbies puts its Gumtread outsole on the slipper too, made with recycled rubber, describing it as "flexible, long-lasting, and perfect for transitioning from couch to back door and beyond."
That is the entire argument for an indoor-outdoor slipper in one sentence. Most house slippers die because people wear them onto a wet path to take the bins out. A slipper with a real outdoor rubber sole solves a problem that plain fabric slippers create.
The Ossa Low comes in men's and women's fits in Chocolate & Cream, and carries the brand's plastic pledge tag rather than the tree pledge that appears on the flip-flops.
The honest reservations
A few things are worth knowing before you buy.
- Colour choice is uneven. The Islander comes in a dozen prints. The Ossa Low slipper comes in a single colourway, and the Vegovert range is far narrower than the flip-flop core.
- Sizing runs in a converted scale. Gumbies lists sizes in paired US and EU form, spanning roughly US5 / EU36 to US11 / EU43 on the Cairns. If you are between sizes or shopping across men's and women's fits, check the conversion before ordering.
- Detail depth varies by model. The Islander and Ossa Low listings explain their materials thoroughly. Some colourways carry the same boilerplate text, so do not expect model-specific technical differences between prints.
- It is still a flip-flop. Even with a jute-reinforced outsole, this is minimal footwear. It is not a substitute for a hiking sandal on rough ground.
On the plus side, the US store advertises free shipping and returns, which takes most of the risk out of a first order in an unfamiliar size scale.
Who Gumbies is for, and the verdict
Gumbies suits the person who wants their warm-weather footwear to have some actual engineering in it: grippy recycled rubber, lined toe posts, a cotton or algae-foam footbed, and enough colour choice to not look like everyone else on the beach. It also suits anyone who wants one pair of slippers that can legally leave the house.
It is less suited to anyone needing arch support or orthotic compatibility, or anyone who wants a huge size ladder. For a wider look at comparable comfort brands, our roundup of comfortable shoe brands is a good next stop.
The verdict
Gumbies is one of the more credible small eco footwear brands precisely because it does not lead with vagueness. Recycled rubber in the outsole, jute fibre for structural integrity, cotton canvas at the contact points and an algae-derived foam on the Vegovert are specific, checkable material choices rather than a green logo.
Buy the Islander if you want the classic, the Vegovert if you want softness, and the Ossa Low if your slippers keep dying in the garden. Skip it if you need support-heavy footwear.
Ready to look? See the full Gumbies range and start with the model that matches where you actually wear them.
Gumbies FAQ
Are Gumbies flip-flops actually made from recycled materials?
The outsoles are. Gumbies calls them Gumtread recycled rubber outsoles, reinforced with biodegradable jute fibres, and uses cotton canvas for toe posts and strap linings. The Vegovert adds a Bloom foam footbed made from organic matter derived from algae.
Is there a vegan Gumbies option?
Yes. Gumbies describes the Vegovert flip-flop as vegan and eco-friendly, kind to the planet and animals. Note that the Ossa Low slipper uses a faux fur lining, which is synthetic rather than animal fur.
Can you wear Gumbies slippers outside?
That is the point of them. Gumbies fits the Ossa Low with the same recycled-rubber Gumtread outsole as its flip-flops and describes it as perfect for transitioning from couch to back door and beyond. For care between wears, our guide on cleaning sandals and flip-flops applies to the rubber-soled models.