FAQ

What is Oliberté?

It starts with our logo which represents a new voice in footwear and for Africa. During a revolt, when rebels finally gain their freedom, they take the country’s most important symbol, the flag, and rip out the middle stating that a new beginning is here.

Africa is more than just poverty and Oliberté is the start of a revolution that shows, through urban footwear, this is the real Africa!

Headquartered in Canada, Oliberté (Limited) is the first footwear company to market urban-casual footwear that is exclusively made in Africa. Africa is more than just poverty and Oliberté will market quality and fashionable footwear that demonstrates the pride, power and liberty of Africa.

With every pair of Oliberté bought, we are making 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 every time you buy a pair of Oliberté shoes.

Where can I buy Oliberté Shoes?

You can shop at www.oliberte.com/shopnow today or you can visit one of our select stores across Canada and USA. We’re still pretty new so if there is a store you know of that you think should carry Oliberté, don’t hesitate to let us and them know.

Where are your shoes made?

Rubber: The rubber for our outsoles is natural rubber from the rubber trees of Liberia.
Leather: Our leather is natural and light from Ethiopia.
Manufacturing: Our Shoes are currently manufactured in Ethiopia and as we continue to grow their we look to work in at least 10 African countries by 2013 in some capacity.

Why are your shoes so light?

That’s part of the magic of Oliberté. Because we work in Ethiopia that has a long history of traditional livestock farming, the animals used for our leather have had a long and healthy life and as a result are lighter.

Why do soles get so dirty?

Some call it dirt, we prefer to look at it as really knowing where you have gone and where you are going.

We use a very natural process to take the milk from rubber trees in Liberia and turn them into something called 'Crepe Rubber'. Crepe rubber is the most traditional way to process rubber into shoes soles AND one of the most important ways to create jobs in Liberia.

Since we prefer not to use chemicals in making our rubber soles, which means you get to walk on the most natural rubber on earth possible which is very sticky. As such, over time your rubber sole will darken and darken, but natural rubber is very strong and durable. All of this is part of what makes Oliberté shoes unique. You get to wear the soul of Africa with you, knowing that because of you, more and more Africans are working and helping themselves.

What is 3 Way Shipping?

If you’re going to shop online we figured we should make it as simple as possible, so here is how it works:

1 Way – Shipping for only $15 within Canada and USA (lower continental states). You do have the option for faster Expedited service. You can select this option when checking out. Shipping outside of Canada and USA is also possible for $35.

2 Way – You can return your shoes for any reason up to 45 days from your purchase date. Just give us a call or email and we'll provide you a mailing label to mail it back to us. Once we get it, you can either order another size, style or of course get your money back 100%. Just make sure to not wear your shoes outside or take off the sole covers - as we don't accept shoes that have been visibly worn. A $15 charge does apply to all returns for CANADA/USA. International orders can be returned at the customers expense. International customers can use any form of shipment, but we recommend a service that offers a tracking number. Note: We are not responsible for international returns that are lost.

3 Way – To be honest, this is our favourite Way. At the end of your Oliberté shoes life (whenever that is), we prefer you to give them to a family or friend. However, if your shoes have seen their last walking days, just give us a call or email and we will arrange to have them shipped back to us for a small fee or dropped off at one of our retail partners for free. We believe in being responsible and so as we don’t want to see any Oliberté in the garbage. We're still new, so we haven’t figured out 100% what we will do with the shoes but we have a lot of ideas including recycling them into new shoes.

If you want to get in touch with us, best to do that by email at info@oliberte.com and we will make sure to be in touch within 1-2 business days.