A Spanish sandal, a South African summer
Plakton has been building footwear on a natural cork footbed in Spain since 1995. It took thirty years to reach South Africa, which is a long wait for a shoe made for exactly this climate.
We hold the South African licence for the brand. That means the full range, real stock on a shelf in Cape Town, and people on the other end of an email who have worn the shoes they are selling you.
Thirty years of one idea
Plakton started in Spain in 1995 with a single conviction: that a shoe should take the shape of your foot rather than asking your foot to take the shape of it.
Cork was the answer then and it still is. Almost every pair made since has been built on a natural cork footbed, and our sandals and clogs are still handmade in Spain from leathers chosen by hand.
It remembers you
Cork is stripped by hand from the bark of the cork oak by specialists who take the bark without killing the tree. It grows back. The same tree can be harvested for two hundred years.
In a shoe, cork does something foam cannot. It compresses where your weight falls and holds that shape, so over a few weeks the footbed becomes a cast of your own foot. Plakton pairs it with a Memory Cushion insole so the shoe is comfortable on the first wear rather than the thirtieth.
What you are actually buying
Natural cork footbed
Takes the shape of your foot and improves with wear
Memory Cushion
Comfortable from the first wear, not the tenth
Handmade in Spain
Our sandals and clogs, built by hand from selected leathers
Held in South Africa
Real stock in Cape Town, shipped nationwide
The South African chapter
Plakton South Africa is brought to you by Mark Copson, Director of the footwear division, whose long standing relationships with like minded global footwear trendsetters made this distribution partnership possible.
Mark saw a gap. South Africans want premium, sustainably made footwear, but rising costs make genuine quality hard to find and afford. Plakton's global mission, offering affordable, uncompromised quality without sacrificing sustainability, was the perfect fit.
We are bringing Plakton to people who value natural materials and lasting craftsmanship, hoping that once they experience the difference, they stay with the brand for good.
Rooted in the ocean, looking to the Mediterranean
Mark, raised in a family rooted in ocean sports, is committed to keeping that conscious, nature first spirit alive in everything the brand does.
Looking ahead, his love for Mediterranean style will shape a bold new collection landing in 2027. A different direction from Plakton's current range, but true to the same values.
