Oliberté and #fairtradeshoes

We recently came across the story of Oliberté, an up-and-coming brand of footwear that is manufactured in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I think their story is interesting because of the choices that they took with their manufacturing and their brand. They started in 2009 and partnered with ethical local factories that they had vetted. When their business outgrew these partnership, Oliberté didn't do what other companies do -- i.e. move production from Argentina to China etc -- rather they opened their own manufacturing facility in Addis Ababa. According to their website, Oliberté is now the world's first Fair Trade Certified footwear, having been certified by auditing teams based in Ethiopia from Fair Trade USA. The shoes look cool but as a bag maker, we are particularly keen on the bags that they make. It's a cool company with a great story that's told beautifully in their online video. We wish them big success with their endeavors. Check out their line