Is it just me, or have you been seeing Nisolo shoes all over the place? In fact, I couldn't help but notice how Nisolo shoes kept gracing the feet of some of my fav bloggers (Chloe Alysse, Lo, and Emily Henderson to name a few).

Every shoe I saw from Nisolo managed to look both heck-a-classy and oh-so-durable. So, I got busy and scoured the interwebs trying to learn a bit more about the company, their ethics, and which shoe is the ideal one to try out first.

I researched, I shopped, and eventually, I decided to delve in.

I purchased a pair of Nisolos' Emma d'Orsay Oxford (in black, of course). With a 4.4 star rating (based on 364 reviews), it just seemed like the perfect fit for my capsule-wardrobe, minimalist-loving self.

Nisolo is a Nashville-based brand co-founded in 2011, by two acquaintances (a micro-finance college student and a fashion industry veteran) who shared a passion for social entrepreneurship. The word “nisolo” is Peruvian and means 'not alone’—a symbolic name that represent’s the company’s commitment to supporting each artisan who creates their products. Nisolo is an ethical B Corp and one of my recent fav finds.

Nisolo also has this AMAZING impact report that you can read about here. I also appreciated their care in the details, like this sweet handwritten note that came with my purchase! Besides the report and the note, most of all, I think Nisolo’s shoes stand out for their quality.

Truly, right out of the box (or rather the box and then the bags) these shoes radiate artistry. They are gorgeously made and I couldn’t help but feel like these equisite oxfords are gonna last quite sometime.

The stitching, the stunning sole, the consistency between the leather. I adored them already and they weren’t even on my feet.

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What I Love About Them: This Oxford is a pointed-toe classic and the open-side slits adds just the right amount of chic polish to any outfit. Now that I’ve worn them for 2+ months, I love, love, love how easily the shoes can be dressed up or down. Plus, each pair comes with a handy BlistaBloc to add extra comfort—although (spoiler alert) I don’t think you even need to use those blister blocking add-ons, because theses shoes are crazy comfortable.

Good-to-Knows Before You Buy ‘Em: Make sure you size up by a half-a-size. Plan ahead for a (8 hour) break-in-period and simply wear these shoes around your house with a pair of socks first.

What makes Nisolo different? There's a few things that really stood out to me.

Nisolo’s Fair Wages, Transparency and #LowestWageChallenge

Most of us know that fashion industry hardly ever plays fair when it comes to pay.

What I didn’t know, was the present-day stats. Currently, the fashion industry employs 75 million workers but only 2% of those workers actually earn enough to cover their basic need expenses.

That mere 2% was (and still is) staggering to me.

While a lot of companies are making great leaps and bounds with fashion-centered social good, Nisolo took the concept one step further by partnering with ABLE (another brilliant sustainable + ethical clothing brand) and GoodOps to to create a social impact assessment platform. The platform is not only radically transparent, but it also provides clear ways to pay employees both fair wages all while providing extra benefits too—like health care and safer working environments.

In a conversation with Vogue, Nisolo shared how this new platform helped them "average income increase of over 140 percent for producers in our factory.” Yes, please!

I also appreciate how Nisolo doesn't merely outsource their shoemaking to various certified factories, instead, they build their own factories from the ground up. This hands-on approach helps keep their shoe-making ethical and safe from the start for the Nisolo artisans.

Oh, and I nearly forgot, Nisolo also helped launch the Lowest Wage Challenge. It’s a campaign that helps nominate popular brands to publish the lowest wages they pay their workers. Being transparent about the lowest wage (rather than the average wage or the labor-cost per garment) protects the lowest paid (and therefore most vulnerable workers).

If you want, you can nominate a brand to join in on the #LowestWageChallenge here. I love Madewell oh-so-much, so I nominated them to join the challenge.

Sustainable Focused Products + Packaging

We’ve talked human ethics. Now let’s talk environment.

Just a quick look at the packaging and it’s pretty clear to see Nisolo cares about the earth and the details. From a recyclable mold-preventing sticker, to reusable bags, and more. I love that they approach the sustainability with a “we’re doing good but we can do even better” mindset.

For instance, Nisolo recently partnered with a group at Vanderbilt University to assess their own environmental impact and that of their suppliers. I’m excited to see where that takes them and the next steps they take too!

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Nisolo’s Carbon Emissions Offset

To counteract Nisolo’s environmental stressors, Nisolo partnered with Ecosphere+ to offset their emissions (via Amazon Basin tree-protection). So far, nearly 90,000 trees have been protected in the Amazon.

Nisolo’s Shoe Reclamation Program

The company has also teamed up with Soles4Soles and collects (literally any) used shoes (to keep them out of landfills) and send those shoes to developing countries where local business owners can repaired and resell the shoes.

The best part is—when you send in your shoes for reclamation, Nisolo, will give you $30 credit off your next order. You can read a bit more about the whole program here.

I hope you enjoyed reading up about Nisolo and hopefully you grab a pair of shoes from them as well! If so, DM us photos of your lovely sustainable shoes on Insta using @CalmandChic because my sister and I would love to see them.

Cheers,

Hazel