https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hirundo/hirundo-sustainable-slowdown-sneakers
The HIRUNDO shoes are all about being as simple as possible. Their aesthetic? Simple classic. Their materials? Simple sustainable. Their manufacturing? Simple and slow. No fast-moving sweatshops and factories with young children working overtime. No shipping materials from across the world to cut costs. No high-flying features or extra fluff. The HIRUNDO sneakers are paving the way for fashion that’s as appreciable and guilt-free as it gets.
Designer: Hirundo Design
Click Here to Buy Now: $119 $158 (25% off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left!
The sneakers are best described as classics with a zest of color. They sport all-white designs, but with beautifully vibrant outsoles and heel-tabs that simply pop against their all-white background. HIRUNDO (pronounced Hee-Roon-Dough) offers 10 different color variants to choose from, ranging between subtle hues and eye-catching shades, as well as one all-black shoe because you can never have too much of a good thing!
Designed, sourced, and handmade in Portugal, the shoes champion a movement called ‘Slow Fashion’, where products are made conscientiously, with fair labor conditions, sustainable practices, and more importantly, they’re designed to last, so you don’t have to throw out your shoes every 4-5 years to buy a fresh pair. The sneakers are built using fair-trade leather, rubber, cloth, cork, and other components that are sourced just a few hours away from the factory in the town of Porto. Designed not just to empower local businesses, it also helps reduce the shoes’ carbon impact, because materials aren’t shipped from across the globe. The makers point out that the HIRUNDO sneakers aren’t just certified carbon-neutral, they’re fair-trade too, with workers being paid fair wages and being employed under worker-approved conditions.
Are the sneakers groundbreaking? Debatable. Do they count your steps and send stats to your phone? I doubt it. Do they decrease your sprint time by 5 seconds? Probably not. They’re a proof-of-concept that shows that shoes can look great, feel comfortable, and last long without costing a lot, resulting in wasteful practices, or unsafe worker conditions. The HIRUNDO are designed to be guilt-free, and to show that companies CAN pursue ‘slow fashion’ if they want to. The sneakers are lightweight, comfortable, and have an aesthetic that you’re sure to fall in love with… but most importantly, they’re designed to last – because as the video clearly points out, “we don’t throw away what we love… right?”
Click Here to Buy Now: $119 $158 (25% off). Hurry, less than 72 hours left!