With the awakening of consumers ' environmental awareness, more and more companies are working to be sustainable and respectful, although in most cases, this is more a communication strategy than a commitment to transforming their production processes. However, among all the talk, some exceptions emerge, generally artisanal, for which recycling and local organic production are an essential part of their work. This is the case of the company PISAVERDE , known for the Pisaverde store in the center of La Laguna , where all the footwear comes from fiber extracted from banana tree stems, with dyes made from cochineal. Despite having a unique creation, business suffered as a result of the pandemic and, as "there has been no economic recovery in terms of small businesses, we are on the verge of disappearing," laments Plácido Alonso , founder of the brand.
Regarding the raw material he uses, this artisan comments, "During lockdown, I started entertaining myself with the banana trees on my farm. At first, we extracted the fiber with a stick, but now we have our own extraction machine to go faster." To achieve the desired result, Plácido needed to "research spinning techniques because banana fiber is different from wool or cotton and cannot be spun in the traditional way." In this innovative endeavor, they also created "a machine to comb the fiber, which would soften it until it was like a mane" and also "a specific loom" because, in addition to their own production, they have "some regular customers who ask us for yarn and fiber for weaving."
As for the dye, they primarily opted for cochineal, a traditional solution and once a thriving sector of the Canarian economy. "For the reds, lilacs, blues, and purples, we use cochineal and achiote (a tree with seeds that color red), and then mordants to set the dye, such as alum, salt, and some type of vinegar," Plácido explains. The list of ingredients for producing these shoes includes "recycled leather, soles made from used tires, natural leather insoles, and even water-based glues to avoid toxic solvents."
Just a store
While production from banana trees is more recent, Plácido has been "dedicated to recycling leather, soles, and plastic bottles for more than 30 years, using our Pisaverde design." The impact of the pandemic still hurts small businesses and, in his particular case, has meant the loss of many outlets. "We had 17 stores in Europe that we served, our own store in London , in Camden Town, as well as stores throughout the islands ," recalls this entrepreneurial artisan, whose presence today, apart from the internet, is limited to a single store in La Laguna, which they supply from their workshop in Tacoronte .
"Small businesses have been denied everything because we can't meet the investment requirements they demand . We are artisans, not an industry. Almost all the processes are manual, and it's not a job that can make you a millionaire," says Plácido about the financial constraints for accessing incentives or subsidies. "The requirements are unviable for small businesses," he asserts. Added to all this are the obstacles to scaling up production outside the Canary Islands, which complicates and often makes online sales impossible. "The sales price increases by up to 60 or 70%, including shipping, intermediaries, and VAT, so a pair of shoes that costs €130 can end up costing €200, and that deters many buyers."
According to Plácido, transportation "is an odyssey" and the tax burden "an economic nonsense," so "we have no capacity to compete with producers on the peninsula," he complains. To illustrate the situation of small businesses in the Canary Islands, he uses a popular cartoon in which "they test a monkey, a cow, and an elephant on how to climb a tree," he exemplifies.
Being real is not fashionable
Given the disbelief of some customers regarding his banana fiber-based production, Plácido is considering moving "part of the workshop to the store" to showcase a purely artisanal project. "The process is so magical that people don't even believe it; they laugh and doubt it, thinking it's just another industrial souvenir brought from China and don't even consider that it could be made with a philosophy of life ." In this regard, he points out that, amid so much misleading advertising, some customers are reluctant to accept that the main raw material comes from the banana tree stem. "It's not fashionable for it to be real," he laments ironically before resorting to another clarifying example. "It's like those supermarket juices that only have 4% fruit," he compares.
The Pisaverde brand, Plácido recalls, was created as a "rebellious response to industrial consumption," offering unique, self-created designs in each pair of shoes, in addition to a respectful production process. All these qualities and particularities of his artisanal production prevent him from competing on price with the industry. "When it comes to marketing, I can't sell shoes for 50 euros," but, despite the difficulties, he is more than willing to continue innovating in his "lifelong profession," championing recycling, local production, and natural raw materials. The road may be steep and winding, but Plácido will surely be well -shod.
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