Our Story
We are an Australian brand that creates beautiful, stylish sandals that are ethical, sustainable and socially responsible. We specialise in using leathers native to Australia that are vegetable tanned and sustainably harvested to make our handmade leather sandals. Instead of offshoring our production, we want to ensure we are giving back to the community we live and work in and thus, we have decided to base our production in QLD and train indigenous women in leather work and manufacturing. We believe that by providing a new skill set and steady source of income we can help one of the most marginalised groups in Australia empower themselves, their families and the communities they live in.
"There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women"
Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
The Project
Similar to the UN's Ethical Fashion Initiative, our aim is to include indigenous women in the fashion supply and value chain. Providing real work that helps them grow in confidence and is economically impactful. We want to take an active role in reducing poverty in our indigenous communities and create sustainable livelihoods through our business and by creating a sustainable stream of income.
Stage 1 of our project is to create a training program and provide materials to teach indigenous women how to work with leathers from cutting through to embellishment and quality control. We will create a program that can be delivered both in person and via other materials to ensure that it can be referred to no matter how remotely our artisans live. We will also provide tools for this work to be carried out. In a truly collaborative approach, we want the artisans we work with to bring their traditional skills and meld them with our designs to create unique products.
The long term goal is to create a studio that will be self sustaining and available for use by other brands. This studio will be run by and for the profit of the communities they are established in.
We require funding to creating and implement a training program, purchasing sufficient tools and materials for a production run which will be delivered in October 2016.
Why?
Why not? We believe we have a real opportunity to create lasting change not only in local indigenous communities but on a larger scale in Australia. With so many resources and talents that can be tapped, we want to provide this platform of job creation for a vulnerable oft ignored group. We believe that this idea can and should be replicated to ensure that our most vulnerable communities are included in our economy. We truly believe that the private sector is where real change can occur which is why we are starting this initiative ourselves.
The Team
We are a small business but have experience in fashion, international business and international development. Furthermore, we have a group of advisors from different sectors to help us grow.
Monica Arcé-Garcia - Designer & Founder
With a background in fashion design, international business and economic development, this project is a labour of love. I came up with this idea over a year ago, seeing that there was nothing similar happening in Australia. I truly believe that the private sector is where we, as a society, can tackle issues that have long been ignored. I believe it is our duty to help those in any way possible by giving a hand up not a handout.
We believe this project will be successful and be able to be implemented in several communities across the country.
To ensure that this happens, we have a team of advisors that helps us keep on the right track
Kate Bennett - Sustainability Consultant
Founder of Collabforaction, Kate has vast experience in the sustainable development field. Kate's knowledge of working with communities and creating sustainable supply chains will allow us to develop the right approach to ensure we maintain the values we stand by.
Erin Conry Webb - Fashion Brand Consultant
CoFounder & Designer of the luxury goods brand Nour Hammour Paris. With knowledge in design and growing brands, Erin's invaluable knowledge is necessary to make sure that we grow our brand to ensure growth so demand is maintained for the studio.
