Petit Nord
Petit Nord has been dressing children’s feet with timeless designs of footwear since 1998. Their shoes are high quality, lovely to look at and comfortable, but also sustainable and ethically made. Petit Nord´s design heritage built on the principles of practicality, minimalism, beauty and quality, which results in classic and enduring footwear, created in naturals colors with a glimpse of seasonal bright.
The brand works hard to continuously improve their sustainability efforts and ecological practices, which includes reusing and upcycling materials. They work with ecological materials and methods minimizing the hundreds of toxic chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis. They strive to promote a safe and healthy life for our children at the earliest stage possible, while trying to make our planet a cleaner place to live. Petit Nord’s kids shoes are made of 100 % vegetable tanned leather that is 100% chrome-free and 100 % biodegradable. The vegetable tanning process uses only organic substances from trees, plants and fruits. It is a more complex, costlier and slower method of tanning which demands in-depth expertise and supervision of skilled craftsmen. Therefore, 90% of the fashion industry default to the more controversial tanning method, chrome-tanning. Due to the use of chromium salts, which subsequently is dumped into the local environment, this method is very detrimental to the environment, animals and particularly damaging to human health. The primary health impacts from chromium are damage to the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and immunological systems, as well as reproductive and developmental problems. Despite these significant disadvantages, chrome-tanning is so widespread, as it is a cheaper and quicker process, which can be automated and carried out within one day. Vegetable tanning takes up to 30 days.
All soles are made of lightweight recycled TR, which stands for Thermoplastic Rubber. It is a synthetic plastic material which is flexible, supportive and controls heat. In some cases it performs better than natural rubber. The TR Petit Nord uses is recycled and comes from rejected/leftover TR soles. Those leftovers, which otherwise would go to waste, are remolded and turned into soles. Using recycled TR product is an important active sustainable choice, as the current surging demand for natural rubber is causing massive deforestation in order to make space for natural rubber plantations, decimating some of the worlds most endangered forests, putting wildlife and critical ecosystems at risk.
With the experience of the brand´s Portuguese partner, who is head of shoe production and a second-generation shoe maker, Petit Nord was able to make the following conclusions:
TR has the same performance qualities in terms of support and strength as rubber.
TR has better endurance, meaning less wear and tear, including better adaptation to changing weather. When the temperature is high, the natural rubber becomes flexible and even starts to melt.
All shoes are handmade in Portugal in small family workshops coming from a conscious decision to produce and source all products and materials in Europe. Petit Nord believes in supporting small family-run workshops, where craftsmanship, tradition, and passion for the trade is embedded deeply in the family’s roots.
In the SS20 collection, Petit Nord introduced the Rainbow range – consisting of the Rainbow sandal and Rainbow Velcro. It was their first upcycling range! The rainbow stripes are mainly made up of left-over leather scraps from production taking them one step closer to reaching their continuous goal of minimizing waste where they can. Undesirable scraps are reused and transformed into a beautiful tonal rainbow design. The Rainbow Range was extended with the adorable Chubby Shearling Winter Boot – where similar rainbow designs have been created to enhance the cute factor in the most environmentally friendly way possible.
Although Petit Nord is not a vegan brand, they have introduced a vegan sneaker made of recycled cotton last season, and this SS21 they will be launching a very unique vegan sandal made out of recycled rubber and they are working on introducing more vegan styles. However, it is a slow process as there is much research to do when sourcing the correct material. The brand is not interested in working with plastic materials of which most vegan synthetic leathers are made up of (even though they do not mention this). They´d rather experiment with innovative materials that are true to the nature of what being vegan actually represents.
Other continues efforts consist of:
introducing a new textile to the sneaker range in Bottle Green and Chocolate. This cool and durable material is made up of 50% Recycled Cotton, 40% Organic Cotton and 10% Virginal Cotton.
all zippers are now environmentally friendly. The zipper tape is made from recycled PET bottles, old fiber and other polyester remnants.
the TEX membrane in all TEX shoes and boots is 100% recyclable and is free from two chemicals; PTFE & PFC. PTFE is claimed to be a cause of birth defects. PFC has been proved to be associated with developmental delays in the fetus and child, including possible changes in growth, learning, behavior and decreased fertility.
Besides crafting beautiful shoes, Petit Nord donates 100% of all sales from MoreBabiesPlease accessories to individuals or couples struggling with infertility. Infertility is a rising problem, caused by a number of factors. When purchasing a pair of shoes, you can add one or more of our newly designed accessories. The price for 1 accessory is 40 DKK, 6 USD or 5 EUR. The full amount is donated to this cause. Two times a year Petit Nord donates to one of the chosen non-profit charities:
This donation will help a financially restricted couple with difficulties conceiving come one step closer to their dream. Petit Nord´s ambition is to help couples and create awareness. To inform how you can make a change for yourself and encourage social sharing in order to break the taboo related to infertility.
Based: Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ships to: Worldwide.
Products: Handmade, sustainable children’s shoes for all ages – starting at a baby’s first shoe to the older children. Some shoes even go all the way up to size 40 – for all the mamas out there ☺.
Mission: To be the best sustainable children’s footwear company in the world, designing and producing beautiful, sustainable shoes for children of all ages.
Vision: To romote a safe and healthy life for our children at the earliest stage possible, while humbly trying to make our planet a cleaner place to live.
URL: https://petitnord.com
