by maria - more than shoes!

This is what it's all about.

Hello, we are by maria, a sustainable supply chain for the shoe industry. We offer custom-sized, handmade shoes in 20 days, manufactured by independent shoemakers in Colombia, designed by our worldwide association of designers , and we are waiting for you, our customer! With by maria we are eliminating modern slavery, overproduction, and invisibility in the supply chain. Please help us to move the industry in the right direction!

I’m Catalina Jossen Cardozo, the founder of by maria. We stand against traditional mass production. by maria connects shoemakers, designers and clients through our beautiful shoes - our common ground!

I conceived the concept in 2016, and together with Gabriela Altamirano and many other innovative thinkers, we built by maria. Now, all we need is your support ordering shoes and spreading the word so we can all change the shoe industry and make it a better, fairer and more sustainable one.

Our project is special because ...

What you promote by joining by maria’s cause:

1. You promote the dissemination and visibility of independent designers who receive 5% for each purchase. Of course, if you share on Instagram and follow them on their profiles, you will see the great professionals behind them.

2. You are also promoting independent shoemakers, who mix traditional shoemaking techniques with homemade machinery to give the best finish to your shoes. Ah! Besides the basic income, each shoemaker workshop receives 7% of the average price per pair of shoes. (Does it sound strange? remember we do not work with factories!)

3. You are helping us to fight against modern slavery. You are promoting the growth and development, especially of all these families that come behind. Our non-profit organization in Colombia, by maria foundation, groups independent shoemakers in workshops of 7 people. The foundation ensures their economic and educational security and provides machinery and adequate spaces.

4. You’re helping the planet! Buying in a model that does not produce garbage because we do not have stock! We don’t have to throw away what we don’t sell. So you are fighting against the millions of pairs of shoes that are burned at the end of the year because they cannot be stored any longer and cannot be given away not to affect the big Corps brands’ names.

5. Ah! And by customizing your size, you help us reduce the 68% of returns in this online industry for choosing the wrong size, or has it not happened to you that you are ne size in one brand and different in another?! (so less unnecessary CO2 emissions)

6. You promote not a sustainable material but a sustainable supply chain. We use materials that support our principle of zero waste, like leather. Why!!! Countries like Colombia that have a high meat consumption leave waste such as skins. Therefore we work with local leather suppliers. We were looking for longer product life.

7. YOU PROMOTE the construction of freedom, dignity, fair work and demonstrate to traditional industries that we can do it differently and transparently!

And also support the SDGs goals: 1 No Poverty / 5 Gender Equality / 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth / 10 Reduce Inequalities / 12 Responsible Consumption and Production.

This is what we need backing for.

We are asking for your participation, as our clients are the third angle of the triangle, designers-shoemakers-clients. Without your participation, the system does not move, and the impact we want does not occur. Your donations will help us continue to build and bring our story to many more ears.

We are ready to receive your orders! And to support you during the process of customizing your size.

By helping us get 15,900 CHF or more, you will support us to:

• Have our first independent workshop running, which means seven families improving their quality of life.
• We will reach the necessary capital to develop a new collection.

Significant changes take time and perseverance. We are here to answer all your questions, and we believe that determination will create a new option for all trapped and without a voice in this industry. When we build together, we make better futures for everyone!

NOTE: All the people who listen to our story and feel that in some way they can collaborate, not only with money and orders but also with their financial capacities, in marketing, operations, design or more, please do not hesitate to write to us! catalina.jossen@bymaria.store / gabriela.altamirano@bymaria.store

NOTE: If you know of any vegan material that does not use plastic/polymers, we ask you to please give us the reference.