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It was barely five years ago that Afshan Abbas stepped away from her job as a software engineer to launch the sustainable shoe brand Fuchsia. While being a designer of leather and wool shoes wasn’t in her five-year plan, solving problems has always been. The problem that she wanted to solve was to find a way to enable Pakistani farmers working side hustles as footwear artisans to be able to fully support themselves through their craft. “They were second or fourth generation artisans. But, they could not rely on that as their single source of income,” she explains. “They might have an order for 200 pairs of shoes, but once they were done they would be out of work for months.”
It wasn’t until Afshan flew home from Pakistan to Seattle that a solution began to form. She noticed a rise in the ‘mindful’ Seattle consumer. “It turns out that sustainability is something that consumers are excited about,” she says. And, the shoes that the artisans crafted were sustainable in nature since they were carefully handcrafted in a zero waste system. They were also comfortable to boot as Afshan explained that khussas are traditional Pakistani footwear that forgo left and right soles for straight soles that conform to your individual foot. “For our customers it works well,” Afshan says. As for the artisans who make the shoes? “These are the indigenous artisans that you don’t meet online. They don’t have Etsy. They struggled in local markets. Yet, now Fuchsia artisans are able to take home 3x more than they did before we existed.”
The Art Of Comfort
Shoes should conform to our feet and not the other way around. That’s partly because while each person’s foot is unique we all require shoes that are flexible and provide support and shock absorption. When designing Fuchsia’s leather and wool shoes, Afshan made sure to include details that offer the wearer optimal comfort. First off, Fuchsia’s leather flats are designed to conform to your feet. They are also blister-free. “The leather is not visible on the backside. It’s covered with a soft suede lining so that your feet will have no contact with leather.” Afshan explains that suede is gentler to the touch making it softer on heels. The same design detail of a cushioned suede heel has also been added to the wool shoes, along with a a memory foam insole that offers arch support.
Sustainable Transparency
All of Fuchsia’s leather and wool shoes are completely handmade in a zero waste supply chain. This is partly achieved because the leather is sourced from meat factories as a by product and then treated through vegetable tanning. Other zero-waste initiatives involve how the leather is carefully cut to minimize waste and how scraps are reused. “These artisans use old craftsmanship techniques that were used 100 years ago,” Afshan tells me. “They recycle the waste – sheds of leather or textiles- and reuse them in different products like wallets for other companies.”
We’re working with a block chain company to help us tell the digital footprint of this product. Consumers will know where the shoes are coming from and who the people are who are working on it.
Afshan Abbas
When it comes to other materials in Fuchsia’s supply chain, Afshan and her team are looking into other ways to source recycled textiles. For the rubber soles that are put in to protect the leather from water damage, she has been able to source recycled rubber from a local Pakistani factory that has sustainable certifications. And, while the wool shoes aren’t made from recycled wool, the raw material is sourced from ethical farms in Australia and Pakistan.
Elsewhere, the brand is working on implementing a take-back program where customers can return their Fuchsia leather and wool shoes for them to be properly recycled by the brand. “Naturally, it makes sense to have a recycled closed loop program. But, for now we recommend that when you’re done that you donate the shoes to someone else who will use them.” Afshan suggests organizations like Goodwill or Soles4Souls as a way to give shoes a second life.
Creating Economic Opportunity
Prior to launching Fuchsia, Afshan’s co-founder spent 3 months in Pakistan working to build quality products manufactured ethically. Working on the ground was their only option, because Afshan didn’t want to hand it off to a third party organization to audit and visit factories. Rather, she wanted to keep the responsibility within the company. “You can’t really see the sustainable practices and tell them that these are the practices and processes that you need to follow when you’re not physically present,” she said about her decision not to leave the bulk of the vetting process with outside organizations.
How do we create an economic opportunity? Fuchsia artisans take home 3x more than they did before we existed.
Afshan Abbas
Five years later the brand has found their factories and evolved to include a team of in-house managers based in Pakistan. When the pandemic shut down factories they were able to consult them about how to best continue offering economic opportunities to artisans despite travel restrictions. Thankfully, the brand didn’t have to rely on factories being open in order to pay artisans and provide work. “There are 6 different types of artisans to create one pair of shoes. So, that worked in our advantage, because we can have all of them work from home,” Ashan says. The at-home manufacturing model involves the cutters, embroiders, sewers and more who work on different parts of shoes that are then picked up by a local courier to be assembled before being shipped to the customer. The work-from home model has also allowed Ashan and her team to directly equip artisans with items like hand sanitizers to ensure safe working conditions. “It’s about doing all of the small things that work really well for them,” she explains. “The work for home style model works so we’ll that we might continue that.”
As for answering what’s in store for the brand’s next 5 years, that involves solving another problem; transparency. “There is such a beautiful story behind this product,” Afshan tells me that she wants to provide that back-story about the artisans who make these shoes to her customers. Currently, she’s working with a U.K-based block chain company to transparently show the supply chain. “We will provide a lot more visibility. Consumers will know where the shoes are coming from and who the people are who are working on it.” Now, that’s she’s masted the art of making comfortable and ethically made leather and wool shoes, sharing how they made looks to be the next problem that Afshan will solve.
