Zouri

ZOURI is a young brand from Portugal that not only produces stylish sneakers and sandals, but also pursues a clear social and ecological mission. When founder Adriana Mano noticed once again during a walk on the beach how much plastic waste was landing on the idyllic coast, it was clear to her that she had to do something.

For her, it was obvious - the vast amounts of plastic waste must disappear from the local beaches and be transformed into something valuable and sustainable. Together with local institutions, NGOs and schools, they were able to recruit more than 600 volunteers for local beach cleanup projects right from the start in 2017. In 2018, they managed to collectively rid the Portuguese coast of a whole ton of plastic waste.

Adriana had already been able to gather useful knowledge for her project through a job at a safety and work shoe company. Now the task was to explore how plastic waste could be used as raw materials for high-quality footwear fashion. Two years and several tons of collected plastic later, ZOURI presents us handmade vegan sneakers and sandals with timeless minimalist design, for which about 6 plastic bottles are recycled per pair. In addition, natural and sustainable materials such as piñatex, natural rubber and organic cotton are used.

The gems are handmade in a small factory in Guimarães, Portugal, which has the advantage of a flexible and family production. For the founder, it is particularly important that decisions are made together in the factory. She sees the ZOURI FROM THE OCEAN’S mission as a joint generational project. "Change is possible if you go ahead with your ideas!" encourages Adriana, and her success is the best proof of that.

Today, Zouri is one of the most sustainable young footwear brands on the market.