Eco Fashion World

In the world of ethically made sneakers with sleek city style, the choice is still limited. We love Veja but they’re still difficult to come by outside Europe. Luckily, a new player has now entered the scene: based in Canada, Oliberté has launched a line of men and women shoes with an urban-casual inspired look and sold online (www.oliberte.com and www.greenisblack.ca) and in select stores this Fall in Canada and the United States.

This new shoe company’s mission is to showcase the true potential of Africa. Working to-date in Liberia and Ethiopia the company looks to work in over 10 African countries in the next years. Shoes are sold and targeted in Canada, USA, Europe, Japan and Australia. Initial styles include ROVIA (Men) and ELIKA (Women) which retail for $ 95-120. "Oliberté is a new revolution showcasing the true potential of Africa. 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," said Tal Dehtiar, Oliberté's Founder and President. "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. If we wanted to make cheap shoes, we'd simple 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. Pride. Power. Liberty. This is the real Africa. This is Oliberté."

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.

Of course, we wondered about the use and provenance of the leather in these shoes, here’s what Oliberté has to say about the subject:

“The average animals used for most leather in other parts of the world only live for about a year. These animals (cow, sheep, 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. As such, because hormone-injected animals are put under so much bodily stress to stretch and grow, the leather is generally much heavier and 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 more 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 it soft and light.

But why leather? Ethiopia has the largest amount of livestock in Africa, and it 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.”

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form