Fair Trade Shoes | Stepping Forward

This is so cool!  The world’s first Fair Trade Certified footwear factory now exists in Ethiopia where workers make fashionable and sustainable fair trade shoes for a company called Oliberté.

Oliberté says “Fair Trade is an incredibly empowering model for the entire supply chain: factory workers trying to improve their lives, brands like Oliberté who want to do the right thing, and customers like you who want to make every purchase matter.”

Here are some of our favorite styles:

The Mogado Hi is a middle height chukka boot style made from brushed wax leather, recycled rubber soles, traditional stitching around the base, handstitching at the front and back, and leather lining making them super soft and giving them a great fit.

Our go-to Men’s guide, Ben, just bought himself a pair and can’t wait to wear them.

The Sasha is a women’s chukka with toe cap accent done in premium tan suede, recycled rubber sole, leather cord laces and the traditional stitchdown around the base.  Not exactly the most feminine of shoes, but if you’re the outdoorsy type, then these boots are a great find!

They also have leather bags, which have such a cool, old school satchel look to them – very utilitarian, but still stylish.

Oliberté has obviously put a lot of thought into their designs – both their products and the design of their company.  This is something we definitely appreciate and love to see in the Fair Trade movement.  They have a ton of helpful information on their website about their policies and fair trade practices.  Click the image below to learn more about their story.

Take a peek at their fall look book too to see their products in action: