Oliberté is a Canadian shoe and bag brand that founded the world's first Fair Trade Certified factory, based in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. They closed the African factory in 2019 and are now made in Canada.

History

The company was created in 2009 as a small footwear company that partnered with various factories and suppliers in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, until they gained enough momentum to open their own factory in 2012. They make every single pair of Oliberté shoes at this factory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In September 2013, they also became the world's first Fair Trade Certified footwear manufacturing factory. In March 2019 they announced the closing of their Ethiopian factory, shifting their manufacturing to Canada, sourcing hides from America and handcrafting using Vibram soles with a goodyear storm welting process. In September 2019 they released their first 'Made In Canada' boot.

Philanthropy and community programs

In the past, for every pair of shoes sold, all workers in the factory would earn a percentage of the cost, and when a product leaves the factory, it is considered sold. This additional income was paid directly to a special workers’ account, enabling the workers to decide collectively how to spend it. Workers could also vote to take the Fair Trade premium dollars as a cash bonus, which is often equivalent to an entire month's salary or more. Oliberté is a

B Corporation In the United States, a benefit corporation (or in several jurisdictions including Delaware, a public-benefit corporation or PBC) is a type of for-profit corporate entity, authorized by 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, that include ...

certified company, which requires that a company achieves a minimum score for "social and environmental performance." Oliberté is a part of the

One Percent for the Planet One Percent for the Planet is an international organization whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual revenue to environmental causes to protect the environment. The aim is to offer accountability, prevent greenwashing and "ce ...

program, which means that 1% of all proceeds are donated to green initiatives.

Vertical Integration

Oliberté employs a

vertical integration In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...

model in their production to ensure that rigorous quality and environmental standards are maintained, and that any involved businesses receive the full benefit from the social enterprise. Goat and cow leather used by the factory comes directly from USA. It is certified free-range and hormone-free, and their previous tannery utilized the world's only chrome-recycling system. Their all-natural rubber was sourced from live trees found in multiple African countries such as Liberia,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

and Ethiopia, depending on availability. Now they use Vibram soles in all construction.

References

External links

www.oliberte.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliberte Fair trade brands Shoe companies of Canada B Lab-certified corporations