About this project
$85,681
554
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! YOU DID IT!!!
We didn't want to disclose this project before we got funded, now we are pleased to let you know our innovative and creative project:
We want you to be closer to the people we believe in.
Stretch Goal:
If we reach 85k, we will have enough to create the first workshop for our rubber producers in order to transform latex into rubber leaf.
It will be set up by our 5 amazing partners from USAID (UN Organization) and the WWF.
Every one of you will also be able to get a direct access to our producers through a platform on our website (www.piola.fr/code) endowed with personalized testimony from each producer.
Also we are launching a new pledge, a limited edition of 150 pairs of Madre de Dios
- numbered from ONE to ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
- Special thank message dedicated to each backer screeprinted on the in-sole
- 2 pairs of laces
- Unique password for the Piola workshop platform
LET'S BUILD THE FIRST KICKSTARTER WORKSHOP!
Featured in :
"Project Piola, a new initiative aiming to provide stylish and comfortable footwear made from high quality raw materials" - Harper’s Bazaar
"Piola is a new footwear company with the goal of creating unique and avant-guard products designed by some of the best creatives in France" - Sneaker Freaker
"In a nutshell: Real fair trade and a transparent production chain for a luxury product" - El Fashionista
And also GOOD.is, Ways 2 go Green, TwinGeeks, Culture Addicts, Urban Gear, Saudi Gazette, Emmagem…
Project Piola in 2 points:
1. We surround ourselves with the best French designers to create unique and avant-garde products.
2. Capitalize on the best organic raw materials to set up a highly creative product. We pay wild rubber and organic cotton producers in Peru between 3 to 5 times the market price. Bonus directly used for saving accounts or productive tools. Our creative project is framed by the UN (US-AID) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Help support us by making this your next pair of shoes today.
Hey Kickstarter,
Thanks for checking out our project page!
We lived one year in Peru as volunteers in an NGO in Lima and fell in love with this country.
We have always wanted to set up a highly creative, independent fashion label that could capitalize on the highest quality raw materials and be part of a “potential” huge change in the way people improve their way of life.
Project Piola started from scratch through a random encounter in the Amazon Rainforest. After a long ride thinking about product, design, supply chain and partnerships in particular with a UN Organization we are now ready to make this huge project happen.
The only question we would like to ask you is:
How far will this project go?
We need at least 60,000 dollars to make the project happen as our partner in charge of the assembly needs minimal order quantities to launch production. Obviously the more funding we receive, the more we could use these amazing raw materials.
Please support at whatever level you’re comfortable with. We will do our best to deliver our great sneakers by May/June 2013.
Thanks for your support.
Josh, Antoine, Quentin & Augustin.
Just a special thank you to Charlie Suchaut who made our video!
Our products in 5 points
- Timeless product designed by the best French designers working at the most prestigious design firms.
- Specific and unique colourways
- Clean and simple
- High quality raw materials (wild rubber, organic tanguïs cotton, ultra-premium leather and alpaca wool.) Something that you have never seen in this kind of product! Enjoy it!
- Hybrid product, cross between sneakers and dress shoes.
We hope you will like them!
Designers: Eugène Riconneaus (Loreto, Ica, Iberia), Florence Astrié (Slippery Elm), Felix Caudron (Madre de Dios)
We do not believe in pasteurized tastes so keep it natural and pick your soul!
Sizing available for women and men. (Please refer to the FAQ for sizing).
What about our transparency policy?
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We want to clearly define our interpretation on fair trade programs and their limits. If you have any questions please let us know.
We are clear: you won’t find any other fashion project as transparent as us.
Why?
- Everyone has heard buzz words about products being "fair trade": nobody knows exactly what that means nor the requirements of such programs! Which part of the supply chain is fair trade, which part is not?
- Fair trade labels costs between 5,000 to 20,000 euros each year for a stamp on a product.
We prefer to directly reinvest the money from our project in the producers themselves. These labels also charge royalties on each product stamped as fair trade.
- Nobody knows exactly where the producers are and where all the partners in charge of the supply chain are located.
Open debate on FAIR TRADE PROGRAMS, we would be pleased to talk about that with you
- Who are we to set the price and claim that what we are going to pay is fair?
- That is why when we went to the Amazon Rainforest for the first time, we asked them how much they want. Our rubber costs do not represent a significant portion of the total price of a pair. What costs the most is labor force and the leather.
Why are we different?
- We don’t have anything to hide:
1. Nobody’s perfect
2. We can always improve
3. We are trying to be as influential as possible on the wages of people working with us, but unfortunately it is not as easy as it seems because some process are managed by directors who are the only ones to make decisions on employee pay grades. Something currently out of our control.
Risks and challenges
Our supply chain could face some delays dealing with the production. The raw material that we use is organic and located in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest...as you can imagine it tends to rain occasionally and flood the paths into and out of the forest.
As we take careful consideration to not harm the integrity of the rubber trees, our producers take the time to extract latex from the good trees. The production depends on the weather because in addition to rain, our producers can't enter the forest and the latex could get mixed with water, mosquitoes or leaves which is not good.
How are we going to tackle this probem?
1. We have 5 people from the WWF and UN program to help us with the supply of rubber in the Amazon rainforest. They will take care of the organization, production, and logistics.
2. The Amazon rainforest is full of trees that have been identified by the WWF, so capacity is not a problem and many people are ready to work on this project as it is the first very serious buying project set up down there for rubber.
3. All of our other partners are ready for production, they are well equipped so there won't be any problem of delays once our order is submitted.
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Funding period
- (33 days)