Ethical Choice

Footwear and accessories made from waste.

Resumen de la inversión

Categoría de impacto

Economía verde

Tipo de inversión

Préstamo

Interés anual

5.85

Plazo

meses

Nivel de riesgo

C+

Ethical Choice is a Portuguese manufacturer of footwear, accessories and other articles made from surpluses. The companies uses surpluses from the footwear, cork and textiles industries and develops products such as espadrilhes, sandals, slippers, bags, backpacks, wallets, pencil holders, amongst others.

These articles combine several advantages: using fabric, footwear and cork surpluses which would otherwise have been considered waste; produce new products with great durability and meet the needs of a well-informed target group, which is conscious about their consumption habits – consumers who give preference to products with lower ecological impact, cruelty- and animal-free.

The surpluses are sourced from two companies: Confeções Lion Jean Lda in Barcelos and Origine Lda in Matosinhos, which have 100 and 21 employees respectively. The design and cutting of Ethical Choice’s products are carried out by Origine, the manufacture of the footwear is carried out by Valdemar Moreira in Santa Maria da Feira, and the manufacture of small accessories (bags, wallets, cases, etc. ) by two craftsmen in Oliveira de Azemeis.

The 20,000€ will be used to purchase a thermical printing machine, a laser cutting and engraving machine and to register the brand. The machines will be installed at Origine’s factory in Matosinhos which currently produces the products by hand.

¿Cuál es el impacto?

Direct:

Transform surpluses into new products: the products to be sold by Ethical Choice are only produced from surpluses resulting from other companies' productions, including fabrics, EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate, used to produce footwear), among others. The company has partnered with manufacturers, having secured between 2,500 and 3,000 kilograms of denim fabric and others such as canvas, preventing these from being thrown away.
Sustainable delivery and packaging: Ethical Choice is developing and growing fast, and its main goal is to sell directly to the public. But while it is still growing, it sells its products to shop and distributors, these being delivered in cardboard boxes and the items wrapped in protective paper. For direct sales, the company is developing bags made from fabric surpluses for packing shoes and backpacks. The remaining articles will be packed in paper bags.

Indirect:

Promoting sustainable production: in the production of its products, Ethical Choice does not use any sort of plastic nor materials from animal production. The shoe soles are made from EVA surpluses (used in traditional footwear production) to which an aqueous basic additive is added. The zippers used on the backpacks and cases are made from metal. The shoe’s soles and insoles are made by and bought to Portuguese factories. The re-using of the surpluses and processing of new products does not include any cleaning process (usually manual) and the application of the interlining fabric does not use water nor any chemical products.

Contribución a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
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Sobre el promotor

About

Ethical Choice, Unipessoal Lda

Ethical Choice nació en 2021 en el distrito de Oporto. Tenían previsto crecer como una empresa de referencia en el mercado de la reutilización de residuos, particularmente en calzado y textiles.

Además de utilizar residuos de telas, calzado y corcho que iban a desperdiciarse, los productos de la marca portuguesa respondían a consumidores preocupados por su huella ecológica, impacto en la economía y bienestar animal, ya que eran libres de crueldad y de origen no animal.

Desde 2022, la empresa ha cambiado completamente su enfoque. Ethical Choice gestiona actualmente propiedades en Portugal y Alemania con fines turísticos. En Portugal, gestiona dos apartamentos en la ciudad de Guarda y una villa de 14 habitaciones en Fornos de Algodres. En Alemania, a través de su filial Ethical Choice Germany GmbH, la empresa opera un edificio de 15 habitaciones y 7 apartamentos en la ciudad de Kaiserslautern y está en proceso de expansión a Múnich, donde gestiona 3 apartamentos.

Sitio web del promotor

Equipo

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Modelo de negocio
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