The concept of sustainability is composed of three pillars; social, environmental, and economic — also known informally as the pillars of
PEOPLE, PLANET, PROFITS.
Arteana supports, values, and respects all three pillars in sustainability but our company has a particular focus on the social responsibility that we, as an ethical fashion brand, have to care for every artisan involved in crafting our shoes.
PEOPLE: CHAMPIONING CRAFTSMANSHIP
The unsustainable growth strategies of fast fashion companies are challenging fashion designers, artisans, and craftspeople in Europe. Original designs and techniques, passionately refined and mastered through decades of innovation and development are copied, mass-manufactured, and commercialized globally without respect, concern, or compensation for the creators.
Fewer and fewer artisans can make a living on their skills and experience and are forced away from the fashion industry, that they themselves so passionately contributed to, in order to provide for their families. Some traditional artisan techniques are already gone, some are only known by less than fifty female artisans globally.
We have chosen to do things differently, and thereby also chosen not to support this unsustainable development of the global fashion industry with the empowerment of factories in less developed countries and their questionable work conditions for their factory workers.
All our partners are carefully selected in Europe and guarantee ethical work conditions for all artisans and craftspeople in contact with our shoes. We know who they are, have visited their workshops, and have experienced first-hand their workers’ passion, dedication, and quality of work-life.
PLANET: MINIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Millions of fashion items are wasted every year due to overproduction, causing unnecessary strain on our planet and its resources.The use and mix of materials is one of the biggest drivers of a fashion brand’s environmental footprint. Across segments it determines up to two thirds of a brand’s impact in terms of water, energy and land use, as well as its air emissions and waste.
Global Fashion Agenda estimates that selecting the right the mix of materials can reduce the environmental footprint of a fashion producer significantly. For example, it is estimated that replacing conventional cotton with organic cotton can save up to 90% of the fresh water and 62% of the energy currently used.
Responsible production is part of our ethos and a key element in our brand vision.
We've diligently spend months searching for materials to ensure high sustainable standards throughout our supply chain. The materials used in our collections have all been hand-picked from sustainable suppliers in Italy who all have strict quality-assuring certifications such as environmental management system certification UNI EN ISO 9001, UNI EN ISO 140001, and the GOLD LWG Audit Certificate for leather material.
PROFITS: TRANSPARENT PARTNERSHIPS
It has taken us years to carefully select all our partners, get to know them and their business ethics well, and we communicate directly with the female artisans and craftspeople handling our shoes hundreds of times per year.
Our partners are provided with complete transparency regarding materials, supply chain, and cost of our shoes and we are proud of our ability to share all details of our manufacturing process with you and our Retail partners.
We sincerely believe that our suppliers need great conditions to grow and have chosen to pay a much higher - and much fairer - price to our artisans compared to industry standards.
To help our own business remain healthy and in balance, we've taken a digital approach to our business model with a strong focus on direct to consumer distribution through our online channel, thereby ensuring the sustainability of both our partners and ourselves.
Thank you.
Your support gives me and my team strength and courage to continue to seek new, unpaved sustainable ways and I really couldn't thank you enough for being with us on our journey towards a better future.
Yours truly,
Veselina Chebanova
Founder of Arteana