These fine non-slip mats are part of the surfer's equipment.Everyone has them on top of their board according to the preferred position of their feet.In all latitudes, even the least English-speaking, these accessories that prevent slipping are called traction pads or front pads, depending on whether they are glued to the back or further forward.Those designed by Nomads Surfing are unlike any other.They are made from flip flops that have come to an end.These tap shoes are ground in their workshop on rue Achard, in the Bacalan district.The granules obtained are then agglomerated.Each piece is unique.There is no determined motive.It's a colorful patchwork, variegated with the whole palette of very summery colors that the strap sandal industry can offer.The raw material thus recycled is Eva foam, an acronym for ethylene-vinyl acetate, which is used in the composition of both flip-flops and these grips, "95% imported from Asia", which facilitate maneuvers. one wave to another.You had to think about it.Nicolas Thyebaut, Thomas Cervetti and Basile Gentil have in common to have lived in Southeast Asia.These surfing enthusiasts have worked for large companies in the Philippines and Malaysia.The first is a graduate of Kedge, a business school based in Talence.His two partners are engineers.At Polytech Lille, they were in the same class."On the beaches of the tropical belt, we often saw mismatched flip-flops," reports Nicolas Thyebaut.It is the second most widespread waste, after plastic bottles”.Thousands of kilometers away, in Africa, his mother and sister had made the same observation.President of the Mérignacaise association Grain de Sable, Véronique Thyebaut goes to Benin in particular for humanitarian actions.Her daughter, Prune, lived in Kenya, where an organization, Ocean Sole, fights precisely against this type of pollution.Flip-flops picked up along the coastline are turned into works of art, animal figurines exported around the world.From these cross-experiences came the idea of ​​these pads in line with the ecological raison d'être of the Bordeaux start-up.Finding the right formula took a year.By varying the granulometry, the temperature, the intensity of the compression and the rate of glue, the trio of thirty-year-olds multiplied the prototypes, of different thicknesses, until obtaining the perfect dosage."The main characteristics had to be adhesion and cohesion", explains Thomas Cervetti.Under the effect of water or wear, the aggregate must not disintegrate."Recovering waste to create new waste would have been nonsense", observe these globetrotters.Five shapes will be marketed this summer, from their website or at specialist retailers, from Saint-Malo to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, but also abroad.After installation, either in the shop or by the customers themselves, these inventors at heart recommend “waiting at least twelve hours before going surfing”.The final product is made in the Landes, by the company Agglolux, with which Nomads Surfing was already collaborating for its cork pads, made from wine corks collected for the benefit of the fight against cancer, another doubly virtuous circuit.The first copies will be limited series.For the purposes of the experiment, the members of Grain de Sable brought back kilos of flip-flops from Africa in their suitcases, which, on the way there, had been used to transport clothes and games for underprivileged children.“The social model is brilliant, remarks Nicolas Thyebaut.The locals who took all those flip flops off the beaches, it's the first time they've made so much money.But ecologically, there are pros and cons.The other side of the coin is the carbon footprint that this mode of large-scale transport would generate.Also, the next flip-flops to be recycled will come from France.Partnerships are in the process of being concluded with surf brands or sporting goods in general.As with bottle caps, there will be collection bins.It's a new reflex to adopt.Don't throw away your flip flops.It is sold "between 5 and 7 million" per year in our country.