Source: Ponto Footwear
Source: Dynamic, sustainable outdoor clothing.
One of the toughest aspects of covering companies who aren’t in the mainstream is tracking down enough information. Since I tend to like writing about companies that are under the radar, especially this month as I attempted to focus on smaller brands, I try to refrain from contacting the founders. I spend a bit of time trying to read posts and ask industry insiders if brands are worth covering. Then I drop a post, tag the brands and try to avoid saying what I would and wouldn’t do to make the brands more prominent, lol.
Sometimes brands fall in your lap and they meet all of the criteria. In this instance, I wanted to share brands focused on sustainability and building quality products for a reason. Many of the brands I’ve focused on up to this point are creating because there was a desire to generate something different from what’s in the mainstream. Both LIVSN and Ponto share a message of sustainability. It’s one of the toughest messages to share and can leave a brand floating between responsibility and growth.
How does a company create responsibly sourced footwear (Ponto) and sustainable, functional fashion (LIVSN) while also generating enough revenue to justify operating a company? Growth is always in direct contrast to designing beautiful apparel and sneakers. When the product looks good, it will sell (if enough people know about it). When it does sell, more of it will have to be produced. At least with these two brands, they are attempting to offset that growth with Repair Program – LIVSN (livsndesigns.com), where the brand:
If our clothing fails due to a manufacturer defect, we will repair, refund, or replace the product at no charge. Repair and Replacement Program: If our clothing fails due to normal wear and tear, send it back to us and we’ll repair it for you at the same price it costs us, no markup. If it can’t be repaired, we’ll offer you a steep discount on a new one.
In the case of Ponto their latest design, The Borrego, features Blumaka and all of their stylish “sneakers”, which have that Cole Haan level style and cool factor, are made with “recycled and bio-based materials”.
These companies aren’t collaborating. I’ve intentionally placed them together on this post because it just flows well and allows me to end the month on a positive note. Have you heard of either brand? Are you willing to give them a try? Use the links throughout to read and discover.