Interview: Our Choice Fashion

Filip and Marcus wanted to create something truly circular, something recyclable and biodegradable as well as 100% plastic free.

LN - what inspired you to start the business?

Nature and ironically, plastic pollution. Growing up in Sweden we have always spent loads of time outside and part of that time spent has been picking up the trash and plastic waste that ends up on the Swedish west coast. A swirl in the ocean leads everything that’s been thrown into the ocean in the UK & Ireland to end up here.

That’s how I started and how the brand emerged organically. I was sick of plastic sneakers breaking after just a few months and started to do my research. I stumbled across some horrific numbers; 25 billion sneakers are being produced each and every year and of these, 87% end up in landfill. Unfortunately, most sneakers are made from plastics and alarmingly, 89% of eco-sneakers on the market are too.

I saw some brands “compensating” by cleaning up ocean plastics, but what good does that really do when brands sell us low quality plastic goods that end up in oceans again?

LN - tell us how you started

We based our business on the Circular Value Hill (Circle Economy, 2016) and provide sneakers made with a fully circular business model, entirely plastic free and with a take-back-scheme in place. If your sneakers were to break, you just send them right back to us and we will perform a full upgrading of your sneakers and send them back to you. We launched a Kickstarter in November which got fully funded in 15.5 hours, bringing in 10.000$ only in the first week. It was amazing to see how people really loved the concept from day one, a concept that we’ve been working so hard on for two years.  We’re now working on our next two campaigns (launching in April and June) as well as our e-commerce platform.

LN – how would you describe your passion for Leather?

We wanted something truly circular, something recyclable and biodegradable as well as 100% plastic free. Something that consumers could wear for years and years to come.

What more can I say– NATURE is the greatest chemist of all, and no faux leather comes close to it’s qualities.

LN – Why is leather such a unique material?

It ages with pride, if you treat your leather goods with love it will always get more and more beautiful over the years. As a footwear material it is perfect as it is breathable and adjusts to the owner.

LN – what, in your opinion do consumers need to know about leather?

Consumers need to know that animal hides are being thrown away at rapid speed because greenwashing fashion brands have marketed Vegan Leather (PU) so aggressively

I always mention to our consumers questioning the leather that I and many people I’ve met have footwear and other garments made from leather that is 70+ years of age and still beautiful. If we look at the CO2 and environmental impact from these products – it is far less than any plastic fashion on the market.  For example, I once met with a journalist that was wearing her grandmothers old leather boots – they have probably walked more than a thousand miles but still looked mint condition!

LN what can the leather industry do to help?

The leather industry must step up to a modern standard and make high quality accessible and affordable so that people really understand the longevity and benefits of it as a sustainable and circular material.

Podcast interview:
Check out Filip’s podcast interview, which looks at why sustainability is more important to consumers than ever.