Heal the planet and look stunning doing it – Alohas
Taking advantage of the traffic generated by fashion week, Alohas decided to take Paris for their latest pop-up store.
The sustainable, on-demand Spanish brand took over a cozy and welcoming space to present their products, although their main objective was to get to know their community while allowing those who weren’t familiar with Alohas to learn about their values.
Confessing that some still find the concept of on-demand difficult to understand, the social media manager, Maria Angerri, took it upon herself to break down what you should know about Alohas.
“0 waste, 0 overproduction”
To be a brand that incentivizes people to consume less and more consciously, seems counterintuitive. But with Alohas, each production is determined by what the consumer likes and desires.
The way they do it is by following three easy steps: first, they drop a new product which will be available for pre-order at 30% off the original price for 3 whole weeks; production starts in the second phase, once the exact number of pre-ordered pieces has been calculated; lastly, the shipping will start.
While some customers have lamented the long wait which stands between drop and shipments, Alohas does not believe in selling at all costs and is confident that those who believe in the mission will continue to support it.
“we don’t believe in an ideal Alohas chica”
Understanding the need of safeguarding the environment, without putting beauty at stake, is the only requirement you need to become an Alohas chica.
The intention to revolutionize the idea of consumption leads Alohas to imagine their consumers to be decisive and conscious investors.
In fact, the methods the brand proposes allow the public to step out of the trajectory of impulse purchases built by trends, pushing each individual to reflect upon their unique style and “add to the cart” only those items which will arouse the same level of excitement five weeks later.
This is all it takes to be an Alohas chica, otherwise, you can be who you wish to be. As a matter of fact, Alohas shoes come in the most varied of shapes, styles and colors, and in sizes from 35 to 42.
Being a part of the Alohas circle comes with its perks. Rewarding sustainable behaviors like purchasing on-demand or vegan is what Alohas aims to do, by giving out points to loyal customers, which can be redeemed to benefit from prizes or special offers.
“We believe in 360° sustainability”
While overproduction is one of the greatest causes of pollution, resolving this issue alone will not award you with the label of eco-friendly. Having understood this from the start, the Spanish shoe brand invested in innovative technologies to source their materials, including both vegan and real leather.
Alohas’s vegan leather is made of corn, apple, or cactus, and the process to obtain such materials is carefully scrutinized by the Alohas team.
In fact, they have developed a second life project to ensure that specific conditions are maintained throughout the entire process: the leaf of the cactus, for example, is left to dry in the sun with no additional use of water or artificial lights, and once the leaves are dry they will be turned into leather.
Vegan leather has proven to be very resistant and durable, nonetheless, Alohas recognizes that real leather is evidently more performative than vegan options in terms of durability.
For real leather, the brand collaborates with a leather work group that uses all means possible to operate in and for an eco-friendly environment.
“We recently began exploring the idea of allowing our chicas to wear head to toe Alohas, to perpetuate the idea of conscious consumption onto other ranges of products”
While it is still known as a shoe brand, and their shoes are what draws most of the attention, Alohas has previously tapped into the world of ready-to-wear and leather goods, mainly through capsule collections.
Next December, the world will finally see Alohas’s first true RTW collection. In this new venture, none of their policies for sustainability will be put at stake: the only materials used are cotton and cashmere, and each producing factory is thoroughly chosen with a rigorous and strict hand.
“We are not a big brand, but we are amazing”
The Parisian pop-up store launched by the brand in the event of fashion week proved that, while being a digital-only brand, Alohas has managed to create a solid community.
People came in to see and feel the Alohas environment, while discovering the various products, which could be purchased through a QR code, and, naturally, following the same three phases described for online purchases.
The overall success of the brand, and the response of the community in the pop-up stores, have fomented the idea of opening a boutique. Although the timeline hasn’t been discussed, the Alohas team surely has an idea for where they’d like to see their first-ever boutique: Spain, the home and birthplace of the brand.
From inside his garage in 2015, the operation started by Alejandro Porras Martorell has successfully converted consumers all over the globe to this new idea of conscious consumption, and the only thing the brand looks forward to is having more people understand and share their values.
