What we actually do.
Making shoes uses energy, water and material. Here is how we try to use less of it.
A factory in a fragile place.
We make millions of pairs a year in a country that desalinates much of its drinking water. That uses resources, and no amount of language changes it.
What we can do is use less, be straight about where we are, and not dress it up. We are not carbon neutral, we do not buy offsets to say we are, and we do not call a shoe sustainable because one part of it is.
Solar
Djibouti has more sun than almost anywhere. Not putting panels on the roof would be negligence, so we did.
Water
This is one of the driest countries in the world. We recover and reuse the water the workshop needs rather than drawing more.
Materials
We buy leather from tanneries we can name, and we use recycled content in our compounds where it does not cost the wearer anything.
Waste
Offcuts and rejected mouldings are ground down and go back into new soles.
One of the sunniest countries on earth, and one of the driest. Both shape how we build.
Who works here.
Pay
Everyone here is paid above the legal minimum, and we say where we sit against a living wage rather than leaving it unsaid.
Hours
A standard week, with overtime that is voluntary and paid at a premium.
Training
Our own school for cutting, stitching and lasting. Most of our supervisors came up through it, and training is paid time.
Speaking up
An independent line in the languages people here actually speak, and worker committees that meet management every month.
Ask us anything about it.
If your team needs detail on how we work, ask and we will answer plainly.