There were times in the history of human kind, where a wave, trend or practice became the Holy Grail. This is what is happening now with becoming sustainable in the world of fashion. But what does sustainable truly means and should we use this term with such ease?

Sustainability does not happen in one place and one process, it starts from the design phase of your product and it goes up to the end customer's choice to purchase or not. One of the biggest misconceptions is that sustainability in the footwear industry is mainly related to the materials used. For example if vegan leather is used then by default the company is sustainable. But did you know that most of the vegan leather is made from materials derived from plastic? And did you know that because of its plastic components the vegan leather is not suitable for shoes? Feet sweat during the day and shoes need to breathe.

At Lejer Boutique our preferred material choice still remains the real leather. The real leather which throughout centuries proved its durability and quality. Our leathers are sourced where we produce our shoes, in Italy, from the finest tanneries.

But sustainability does not start and end with materials, of same importance is the manufacturing process as well as the transportation and distribution. Our shoes are manufactured by Italian artisans, with very few mechanical processes, using skills carried forward from past generations. For us it is highly important that the craftsmanship will live forever and that we employ local artisans to ensure the sustainability of their craft. We are also planning on shipping the shoes directly from Italy to keep to a minimum the impact of transport on both costs and the environment.

Changing consumption habits slows down fashion

When I think about sustainability I remember my mom. When she was younger she did not have the luxury of having multiple clothes and shoes. And was she depressed? Did she stare into her closet thinking to herself: I do not know what to wear. NO! She had few items, with timeless designs which she took care of religiously and which lasted for a long time. My mom grew up in Romania during the communist regime, in a closed economy, so she did not have as many choices as we have now. But fear not, people were so inventive back then, they used to travel to Turkey and bring back beautiful clothes and sell them. As for shoes she said that a pair of good shoes from one of the few Romanian shoe producers: Clujana, was almost one whole salary. So she had to be very careful with her purchasing habits. You see, my mom always dressed impeccable and even if she had just a few clothing and footwear items she was elegant and confident.

What I am trying to get at is that in my opinion, more than any other factors which directly have an impact on the environment, our consumption habits have one of the biggest impacts. Our shopping mindset needs to shift as well, as the fashion production changes. Hot, trendy pieces are not wardrobe essentials but they are simple impulse purchases, which let's be honest most of the times we end up regretting. We need to think about our purchases in terms of quality, durability and localised production.

Will this mean that we will have to pay more for an item? You bet. But as Virgil Abloh famously said: "Don't let ZARA and Uniqlo educate you on the price of a garment, because that's not fashion that's McDonald´s".

Now the question is, in this sea of options, do you want your purchases to be a fine dining experience or a fast food one?

At Lejer Boutique we want to support new consumption habits. We will be producing our shoes in limited quantities and we will make them available for pre-ordering. The pre-ordering phase is important to check the demand and appetite for a certain shoe model before the artisans start creating them. This means that we will not overproduce and that we can retire a model in case it is not liked, avoiding any waste. For you it means that you will be able to place an order for an exclusive pair of shoes before they are actually produced, at a lower price, and that you will have to wait patiently for your shoes to be produced. Considering the positive impact of this model we hope that you will find it worth it.

Are you ready to change the way you shop for shoes? If yes, we are so happy and excited to go hand in hand on this journey.