Oliberté in The Pure Indulgence

“Oliberté eco ethical urban footwear from Africa”

Check it out: http://www.thepureindulgence.com/index.php/2009/09/oliberte-eco-ethical-urban-footwear-from-africa/

Thanks to raising awareness and pressure generated by the recent Greenpeace report entitled Slaughtering the Amazon, the footwear brands Nike, Adidas, Clarks and Timberland have all agreed to stop sourcing leather from areas of deforestation in the Amazon caused by intensive cattle farming. However, some of the manufacturing processes and ethics of those companies are still highly questionable, which makes their products an undesirable purchase even before you take into account their dubious fashion credentials.

Oliberté urban footwear, with their exemplary production ethics, sustainable materials sourcing and contemporary styling is a positive alternative to those big brand shoe companies. Here’s what they have to say about themselves…

“Oliberté is the first to market premium urban-casual footwear made in Africa. With every pair of Oliberté you buy, you make a powerful statement that Africa is proud, free and full of potential. You do this all while being a hero, because you are the reason men and women from Liberia to Swaziland to Ethiopia have a job, have food on the table and can send their children to school. Oliberté is not a charity, it is a company that believes you can change how the world views Africa and help build lives when you buy a pair of Oliberté shoes.”

• premium Ethiopian leather is strong, light and from traditionally farmed livestock
• the first footwear to be made using durable naturally processed Liberian rubber
• farmers, factory workers and suppliers are ensured fair pay and treated responsibly
• partnerships with factories to reduce carbon footprint and environmental impact
• providing local training and community development in every country we work

Oliberté are so new that there are just two styles in their range so far, but they both come in a wide choice of colours. The ladies Elika shoe is pictured above in the top row and the Men’s Rovia shoe in the bottom row. Currently they are only available at selected stores across Canada and the USA or online from their Canadian outlet (with the option of international shipping) but they are hoping to secure distributors in other regions very soon. We will update this article with any further news when we get it.

Cattle ranching is the biggest driver of Amazon rainforest destruction and contributes to make Brazil the fourth largest climate polluter in the world.

Published by: admin on September 26th, 2009 | Filed under Media
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Pictures from Production

As Production began this month, take a look at these pics for the MENS’ ROVIA and WOMENS’ ELIKA.

Published by: admin on September 25th, 2009 | Filed under Factories in Ethiopia
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The Globe, WSA and We've launched!

What an exciting few days.

The Globe & Mail wrote about us in Style today comparing to what Kanye West is about. I personally loved the part about bring a ’sniff’ to Kanye.

Read article here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/madonna-opening-ceremony-olibert-footwear/article1237965/

This weekend we’re also showcasing our launch styles, ROVIA and ELIKA at WSA in Las Vegas and getting great reviews and support. Super exciting about some of the stores to carry Oliberté starting this October and January 2010.

Published by: admin on August 1st, 2009 | Filed under Media
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Welcome to Oliberté!

We’re on our way.  Almost there. Today we announced the 2 factories (sorry: still top secret) in Ethiopia that we are going to work with to produce our first 2 lines (Rovia and EliKa). We’re super excited as picking these two was quite the process but important.

Quality and attention to detail was important, but equally we were looking at how they pay their staff, how they treat their staff, how many women they hire, what type of glues were they use, etc. etc. etc. While not perfect in every category, we are really happy the 2 we chose. We didn’t expect them to be perfect but what was important was how much they wanted to improve their standards to one day become as perfect with respect to quality and employee and environemntal responsibility.

Published by: admin on July 1st, 2009 | Filed under Factories in Ethiopia
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