FOAM LIFE HANGING SHOES 2025 PREVIEW

Retail Buyers Guide: Hanging Shoes 2025 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: The Foam Life
Interviewee: Karl Read – Co Founder / Creative Director

How was 2024 for the hanging shoes market?
2024 was a year of strong growth for FoamLife, both in sales and market presence particularly in Europe. We experienced significant increases in both B2B and D2C sales, driven by strategic partnerships and an expanding global footprint. We partnered with new distributors and agents globally that have helped broaden our reach. We saw the success of FoamLife sales in the Vissla stores in Australia that led to an exclusive distribution partnership with Vissla/Stokehouse Australia. FoamLife continues with strong sell-through across 14 countries in a diverse mix of retailers—from surf shops, surf schools and retreats to health clubs & spas, in both coastal and urban environments. This broad appeal highlights our significant growth potential across multiple international markets.

What are the current trends in hanging shoes?
Consumers are seeking styles that fit a variety of occasions. We’ve embraced this by expanding our flip flop and slider ranges to offer more options that transition effortlessly from the beach to urban settings. We’re seeing an increased demand for sustainable materials and comfort-driven designs, with consumers prioritizing footwear that not only looks good but also aligns with their values.

What new styles and shapes are you offering in 2025?
For 2025, we continue to build on our foundation of best-selling flip flop and slider silhouettes by introducing fresh new colors, and premium sustainable materials. The Men’s collection last year saw the introduction of a style called “Traad” a style with a raised, repeat logo footbed inspired by surfboard tail pads, this was released in two fluro colourways that will carry into 2025, but we’ve added in a black, grey and tan option, offering a completely different aesthetic. A brand new flip flop style in the range for 2025 is the “K Bay”, crafted from BLOOM™ algae blended EVA foam, a padded vegan bio-leather strap, RPET materials from post-consumer plastic bottles and a branded gum rubber outsole with a recycled rubber fleck. We’ve also expanded our “Sully Slide” lineup, made from sugarcane EVA foam and hemp canvas. Alongside the classic black & olive option, we’ve introduced a stylish new putty and brown colourway, which we expect to be just as popular. Following the success of our “Seales” flip flop, we’re excited to introduce the “Seales Slide” for 2025. Available in a black & brown colourway, this new addition features a sugarcane EVA footbed paired with a padded vegan leather upper strap, offering the same blend of comfort and sustainability that made the original Seales a hit. In the Women’s collection, our recycled EVA foam “Lixi” style, a staple since day one, now comes in a timeless light beige—a neutral must-have. The “Traa-SC”, crafted from sugarcane EVA, gets a fresh update with a slate grey base and a bright pink colour pop, while the “Sully”, made from sugarcane EVA and hemp canvas, now features a soft light grey and lilac colourway. The “Seales-SC” also sees a vibrant summer-ready refresh with a brown base and a sunkissed yellow pop in the upper strap. Following the success of our “Yogi” style in black, which launched in 2024, we’ve introduced a new latte brown colourway, offering the same yoga mat memory foam comfort in a warm, earthy tone. Likewise, our “Harts” style—crafted with sugarcane EVA foam, a laser-etched pattern footbed, padded woven upper strap, and RPET materials now comes in a sleek black colourway, complete with a free ankle bracelet. New styles “K Bay” and “K Bay Slide” are brand new women’s styles for 2025, both are made from BLOOM™ algae-blended EVA foam and RPET materials, featuring a padded, multi-coloured woven upper strap for a fresh summer look. Another standout update is the “Goldie”, a longtime favourite that now features a new colourway with a top layer of natural cork over its sugarcane EVA foam footbed, accented with recycled EVA colour pops and a light blue denim upper strap. To complement this, we’re also launching the “Goldie Slide”, offering the same stylish combination in an easy slip-on silhouette.

What materials and construction techniques are you using in your 2025 collection?
As usual, comfort remains a top priority across our entire range, with all styles featuring our signature ‘Soft to Step’ EVA foams and raised arch support. For 2025, we continue to innovate with recycled and sustainable materials. Our collection is made up of recycled EVA and sugarcane EVA foam and new for 2025 we are using, BLOOM™ an algae-blended EVA foam. Every flip flop style in the range now has a toe post that is made from an RPET webbing strap (made from post-consumer plastic bottles). We have also increased the number of styles that use hemp canvas and plant-based bio-leather, natural gum rubber and cork.

What colours and prints are you offering in 2025?
For 2025, we’ve built upon our existing colour palette while introducing a few fresh additions to enhance the collection’s versatility and seasonal appeal. In the Men’s collection, our core colors—Black, Navy, Tan, Olive, Stone Grey, and Slate Grey—remain key staples across styles. We’ve expanded these proven favourites across more silhouettes while introducing Ocean Blue, a rich navy shade featured in the new “K Bay” style, bringing a fresh coastal-inspired hue to the range. In the Women’s collection, timeless neutrals like Sand and Latte Brown continue to provide classic styling options, while soft pastels such as Sage Green, Powder Blue, Dusty Pink, and Lilac maintain their beach-chic sophistication. New for 2025, Light Beige debuts in the “Lixi” style as a neutral, while the “Traa-SC” sees an update with Slate Grey and a vibrant pink colour pop. To inject a bold summer feel, we’ve introduced Sunkiss Yellow, a warm hue used in strap details juxtaposed with brown for a striking high-summer aesthetic. The “Goldie” and “Goldie Slide” styles now feature bright multi-colour pops on the cork footbed, complementing the new light blue denim upper strap. Additionally, the multi-colour woven upper straps on the “K Bay” and “K Bay Slide” deliver a true Mediterranean-inspired vibe, ideal for sun-soaked adventures. By carefully balancing classic, neutral tones with bold summer pops, our 2025 collection offers a colour palette that transitions effortlessly from the beach to the city, capturing the spirit of endless summer.

Anything new in terms of sustainability?
Sustainability remains at the heart of FoamLife, we remain 100% plastic-free in our packaging, with all products being Vegan and PVC-free. The majority of our range now features sugarcane-based EVA foam, alongside our new addition for this season, a BLOOM™ algae-blended EVA foam. More styles now incorporate RPET threads, linings, and webbing toe-posts made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Our plant-based bio-leather continues to grow in the Men’s and Women’s collections, while the use of cork and hemp has also increased in styles “Goldie”, “Goldie Slide” “Sully and “Sully Slide”.

Please tell us about your key marketing stories for hanging shoes for 2025
A major highlight for 2025 is the installation of two giant FoamLife flip-flop showers at the Santo Loco store in Sagres, Portugal. Perfectly positioned near the beach to attract attention and engage the surf community and beach goers. This unique brand activation boosts visibility for both FoamLife and the Santo Loco store, and we’re exploring opportunities to roll out the concept in other key locations worldwide.

How are you helping retailers sell this category?
We support our retailers with freestanding display units that showcase FoamLife products alongside clear branding and key sustainability icons to drive sell-through. Our stand design allows two standard units to be connected with a wider branded header, giving retailers the flexibility to expand their FoamLife assortment. In addition, we provide in-store POS materials and a library of seasonal lifestyle and product imagery to support both in-store merchandising and online promotions, helping retailers maximize visibility and sales.

Key Products:

Mens: FoamLife TRAAD – Slate Grey:
The raised footbed on the “TRAAD” flip flops has been inspired by retro surfboard tail pads, providing grip and comfort. Crafted from a sugarcane EVA foam and recycled materials.

FoamLife Traad Black_Slate Grey

Womens: FoamLife K BAY – Latte Brown:
The “K BAY” flip flops for women stand out from the crowd with their premium look and irresistible comfort. The K BAY combines a ‘soft to step’ sugarcane EVA foam footbed and a super-comfortable toe-post made from recycled plastic bottles.

FoamLife KBay-Latte-brown

Womens: FoamLife GOLDIE SLIDE – Denim Blue:
FoamLife’s “GOLDIE SLIDE” slider for women features a top layer of natural cork over its sugarcane EVA foam footbed, accented with recycled EVA colour pops and a light blue denim upper strap.

FoamLife Goldie Slide-Denim Blue