Headquarted in Canada, Oliberté has launched the first international footwear company to work exclusively in Africa. Designs for men and women shoes are urban-casual inspired and sold online and in select stores this spring in Canada and the United States. Founder and President Tal Dehtiar has already been recognized with the International Youth Foundation ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ and nominated for the YMCA Peace Award, Canada's Top 40 under 40 and Ernst and Yong's Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Last week I had the privilege of meeting him in his workspace in Oakville.
Kim: We’re thrilled to see a new eco shoe company bringing great sneakers. Can you tell us more about your designs?
Tal: Our initial styles include ROVIA (Men) and ELIKA (Women) which retail for $95-120. They are sleek and colourful and carry Oliberté`s signatures including thin crepe rubber soles and circles throughout the designs. But we’re already moving beyond the sneakers and are developing other models such as chukka-boot inspired shoes, boat shoes and ballerinas for ladies.
Kim: Oliberté is a new shoe company showcasing the true potential of Africa. Why Africa?
Tal: All the attention on Africa is focused on alleviating poverty, but the only real way to alleviate poverty on this beautiful continent is to build a middle class that includes fair paying jobs. The more shoes sold, the more fair jobs will be created at local factories where Oliberté works which ultimately changes lives for the better. Every time someone buys a pair of Oliberté shoes, they are showing to the world that Africa is more than just poverty - that it is full of pride, power and liberty. Working to-date in Liberia and Ethiopia we look to work in over 10 African countries in the next years.
Kim: What’s so special about your shoes?
Tal: Within the first few weeks after launching last Fall, people started asking why our shoes are so comfortably light. The average animals used for most leather in other parts of the world only live for about a year. These animals (cow, sheep, and goat) are typically injected with hormones to speed up their development, so that they can be used for meat or leather much sooner than would naturally be possible. Because hormone-injected animals are put under so much bodily stress to stretch and grow, the leather is generally much heavier and not as soft. However, in Ethiopia, where we make our shoes and source our leather, these same animals provide local farmers with their livelihoods for many years. The cows and goats continue to provide milk to farmers and their families and only near the end of their natural lives, are the animals used for other income-generating activities such as meat or leather. The average animal used in making Oliberté shoes has lived on average 5-6 years longer than similar animals in other parts of the world, and has not been caged or stressed. As such, each of our shoes is made with the most natural leather available in Africa, and this is what makes them soft and light.
Kim: Leather is often seen as not very eco friendly. Why do you choose to use it?
Tal: Our first concern is to bring jobs to people, the environmental aspect comes second for us. However, if we had a choice, we would do both at the same time, but right now sadly we must sacrifice one, but hopefully for not too much longer. Ethiopia has the largest amount of livestock in Africa, and its leather has the potential to bring enormous opportunities to all Ethiopians. Oliberté is about building a better Africa through footwear and that means using resources that are locally available AND that provide the best opportunity for better-wages and better quality of life for Ethiopians and all Africans.
Kim: What about the rubber that you use for your shoes?
Tal: Starting in late 2010, the rubber for Oliberté footwear comes from natural milk from rubber trees that have been tapped in Liberia. Liberia has the largest amount of natural rubber in Africa, but because of decades of civil unrest, it has been difficult to work in this West African Country. Today, Liberia is moving forward and Oliberté is thrilled to work with the country in creating local jobs and the first to process its rubber into natural crepe soles. The shoes themselves are manufactured in Ethiopia which has the largest selection of natural hides in Africa and a growing footwear manufacturing industry.
Kim: What’s your vision with Oliberté?
Tal: I always knew I wanted to start my own company and after five years of running MBAs without Borders , the time was right. When thinking of the products that would still be needed in 200 years from now, I thought of clothing and shoes. I decided to make shoes, because I saw a market for it. I will be a father in three months from now and what I want is that my grandchildren think of Oliberté as part of the reason that Africa is thriving. Additionally, if we wanted to make cheap shoes, we'd simply go to Asia, but this is NOT about cheap shoes or labour. This is about premium quality and fashionable footwear that creates fair paying jobs in the poorest countries of the world. Just like we think of Asian tigers now while these countries were very undeveloped just a few decades ago, my grandkids should have an image of an empowered and strong Africa in thirty years from now.
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Thanks,
Anna