They say people always meet twice in life. And sometimes that happens in a particularly amazing way. In her twenties, Wildling Shoes founder Anna spent some time in Ecuador for an internship. There she met Bolier, who at the time was working at the Ministry of Environment. They kept in touch for years. In the meantime, while Anna founded Wildling Shoes with her partner Ran, Bolier became a professor of forest ecology* at the Universidad Estatal Amazónica. Then Anna and Ran came into contact with Mr. Itoi from Japanese manufacturer Itoitex about the production of the legendary Tanukis made from his patented washi – and he had begun sourcing the raw material for it, namely fibers from the Abacá plant, in Ecuador. You can already guess what happened. The story behind abacá and washi is a story about long-term relationships – and these four people, alongside many other personalities, play important roles in that story. But let’s start from the beginning.
How abacá is made…
Washi doesn’t exist as a raw material. It is derived from the fibers of certain plants – our special Wildling Shoes washi is made from the Abacá plant, which grows, among other places, in Ecuador. To make the material durable enough for shoes, the abacá (content: 75%) is mixed with one quarter polyester. Roughly speaking, the manufacturing process can be summed up like this: The leaf sheaths surrounding the plant are removed from its stem and then sent by ship to Japan – the place where washi was invented and is still produced today. The dried fiber is used to make paper. This paper is cut into fine strips and twisted around a polyester core. That is how the yarn invented by Mr. Itoi is produced – and from that yarn, the fabric for the production of the Wildling shoes that feature washi is then woven.
Foto: Image: Cherie Birkner; model: Tanuki Niji
... and everything that goes with it
A key part of our work at Wildling is making our supply chains transparent step by step. This helps us find ways not only to conserve resources, but above all to tangibly improve the working and living conditions of the people on the ground. “We have certificates that verify that the raw materials are organically cultivated,” explain Anna and Ran. “But since they don’t explicitly cover social occupational standards, we asked some questions in Ecuador.” However, since it wasn’t possible to establish direct contact with the growers, Wildling Shoes had to rely on the various processing stages to exchange information – and since abacá is part of a huge paper market that involves much larger quantities than Wildling Shoes needs, responding to our questions was hardly at the top of their priority list. In other words, transparency wasn’t exactly the order of the day when it came to the working conditions of the farmers in Ecuador. What’s more, cultivating the Abacá plant is also hard physical work – so it was all the more important to stay on task in this regard. That’s where Anna’s old friend Bolier comes in. His research revealed that the issue of social occupational standards on Abacá plantations faces problems at the structural level.
Changing tack
The original plan was ambitious: establishing a traditional “Chakra” agroforestry system alongside indigenous communities in Ecuador. But in practice, to be completely honest, without the right local network, the project risked overstretching our capacity as a small business.
Image: Nora Tabel | Wildling Shoes; model: Pamir
Instead of giving up, we refocused on the most pressing issue: total transparency right at the farm level. We set out to find a partner and discovered a farm in Ecuador that offers that exact openness. During an on-site visit, we were able to see the conditions firsthand.
Across continents, the work continues simultaneously in Japan: Together with Mr. Itoi, we are testing Abaca fiber from this new source and already using it in a few models.
It’s a journey with plenty of stops and learning curves along the way. But that’s precisely how a value-driven supply chain comes to life: not through flawless plans, but through honest, continuous learning.
*Forest ecology, livelihoods, bioeconomy, and carbon storage through land use
Headerfoto: Nora Tabel | Wildling Shoes; modell: Tanuki Niji
