Our factory, Hopewell Footwear, is Located in the beautiful city of Durban on the East Coast of South Africa, the country's surfing capital. It is a 3rd generation, locally owned; the 4th generation is studying for a footwear degree in London and working in Italy to prepare him to take over the family business. Owner Mohammed says many of the employees have been with them for as long as he can remember
South Africa has a 30% unemployment, so it's essential to help support the local people and economy.
We do this by sourcing as much of the footwear components locally. This enables us to support many South African companies and reduce our carbon footprint.
Hopewell is a member of fairfactories.org. Open Source continuously audits them to remain an internationally approved Veldskoen supplier.
They take full accountability in running their factory ethically and transparently, with rigorous, fair labor, health, and safety procedures. The longest-serving employee has been there 48 years. In short, people love working there.
We spent a long time searching for the right factory to live up to the standards and ethics we were looking for in a partner.
Each shoe is individually hand-cut and sewn, making each shoe unique. The leather hide we use is a single hide; we don’t use compressed composite leather. This means a soft, comfy, and exceptionally durable shoe that lasts and lasts.
There is a powerful bond between all the workers and management, and they are looked after very well. As a result, workers take huge pride in their work, and many have been there for over 20 years.
Each one of our shoes tells a story. It's up to you to finish it