Thousands of flip-flops are washing up on Kenyan shores in Africa.

(Ocean Sole Foundation)

At a Glance

Thousands of discarded flip-flops have found their way into the world's oceans, threatening marine wildlife.One company in Kenya has been recycling discarded flip-flops, creating products and artwork.The initiative has helped the local economy and brought awareness to the plight of plastics in our oceans.

In many Asian and African countries, flip-flops are the shoe of choice for millions. Problems arise,however, when the shoes are discarded and find their way into waterways and ultimately the ocean, where they pose a major threat to marine wildlife.

Ocean Sole, acompany based in the African nation of Kenya, is working to addressthe problem through art and products made from discarded flip-flops.

"Flip-flops may seem like a harmless summer accessory, but they’re actually killing marine life," Katie Carnelley, marketing directorof Ocean Sole, told weather.com. "Nine million tons of the popular footwear are washing up on the East African coast each year, mostly coming from Asia, India, China, and parts of Kenya.'

Some of the products created by repurposed flip-flops collected from beaches in Kenya.

(Ocean Sole Foundation)

One shoe company, Carnelley notes, has produced 500 billion flip-flop units a year for the past 50 years.

"You imagine how this can fill waterways, which end up in our oceans," Carnelley said.

Recent studies say that at least and that by 2050, there could be.

According to the , Julie Church, a marine conservationist leading the conservation and development project for the Kiunga Marine National Reserve in Kenya, became horrified in 1997 by the amount of debris washing up on beaches on the remote island of Kiunga, including thousands of flip-flops.

Inspired by toys that local children were making out of the shoes, Church convinced locals to begin collecting the flip-flops so they could be repurposed into products and art pieces, the sale of which could help the local economy and bring awareness to the problem.

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Over the past 20 years, the company has created products and art out of thousands of flip-flops and has won multiple awards and recognition around the world. In 2008, the company was named one of the top 12 businesses demonstrating enterprise and innovation in the BBC World Challenge.

Some of the art pieces created from flip-flops have been on display in museums as far away as Sweden and at the London Zoo. Even Pope Francis was presented with a piece during his visit to theUnited Nations Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi in 2015.

Pope Francis visited the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Nov. 26, 2015, where he received one of Ocean Sole's sculpture animals made from recycled flip-flops as a gift.

(Ocean Sole Foundation)

"Through our art, we are showing awareness and educating people on the effects of the flip-flop problem," Carnelley said. "We have school groups visiting our company where we do a presentation and activity to teach them about the effect of marine debris and the flip-flop problem."

In 2013, as Ocean Sole expanded its product range and began working with new partners around the world, they created the Ocean Sole Foundation to ensure a percentage of profit is put both towards marine conservation and "the encouragement of innovation, creativity and sustainable trade solutions."

Carnelley said beach andwaterway cleanups are organized frequently, which allows "people to see and spread the message on this problem."

Carnelley said she hopes that people will become more conscious about the products they buy and avoid plastics as much as possible. She also encourages others to become more proactive in seeking solutions to the plight of our oceans.

"By buying our art and becoming a sole mate, Ocean Sole is able to clean up more flip-flops from the beaches," said Carnelley. "This, in turn, helps educate people (about the problem) and creates jobs for more people, as well."

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Hawaii Trashed by Plastic

In this May 5, 2016 image provided by the state of Hawaii, ocean debris accumulates in Kahuku, Hawaii on the North Shore of Oahu. State officials say a study of the eight main Hawaiian Islands shows that ocean debris regularly accumulates around the archipelago, and that most of it is not linked to the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The aerial survey shows that much of the debris that accumulates on the shores of Hawaii is plastic trash. (Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources)