Ethical footwear brand Po-Zu unveils AW18 and SS19 collections ahead of London Fashion Week

This Autumn/Winter 2018 season, British ethical footwear brand Po-Zu's signature style returns with chrome-free leather boots and best-selling sneakers. The new collection features new developments and silhouettes, including a non-leather runner which nods to the continuing athleisure trend, a vegan Chelsea boot, a vegan high top and a vegan snow-boot to see us through the après-ski season.

Building on the 12 year history of the brand, Po-Zu launched a new ethical line from Sri Lanka for the Spring/Summer 2019 season while also growing the Portuguese product range to offer a stylish ethical alternative for both men and women.

Sven Segal, CEO of Po-Zu, commented: “Seasons may come and go but the ethical footwear trend is here to stay. Therefore, we are also introducing new styles, a large amount of which are also vegan.

Spring/Summer 2019 features fresh new colours and stylish easy-to-wear sneakers made with organic cotton, coconut coir and Fair Trade rubber. “

Safia Minney, MBE, Managing Director of Po-Zu and Founder of Fair Trade fashion pioneer, People Tree, comments: “It’s been incredibly exciting building our ethical and sustainable supply chain in Sri Lanka and we’re so pleased to be able to offer customers an even wider choice of ethically-made footwear at prices that are ever more accessible.

Safia continued: “Consumers are waking up to the harmful consequences of their purchasing decisions. We are seeing ever more a shift towards vegan fashion that is not just cruelty-free but also plastic-free and environmentally-friendly. Working with naturally vegan and biodegradable Po-Zu shoes offer style and substance with top-class sustainability credentials."

Meanwhile, Po-Zu continues to maintain a cult following with the geek and Star Wars community, adding several new styles to the AW18 offering for Star Wars fans. Most notable is the new Leather RESISTANCE in luxury soft chrome-free leather.  Referencing the Rebel Alliance emblem with a heat embossed logo on the side the new sneakers shine new light on the timeless Star Wars brand. The range, which has been officially licenced by Lucasfilm and Disney has been worn on actors and stars alike including Daisy Ridley (Heroine Rey) Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker), director, Kevin Smith, Youtuber, Casey Neistat and more.

Consumers’ increasing awareness of sustainability, ethical fashion and sharing economy

Some of the industry's visionaries on sustainability, ethical fashion and fair trade joined up to discuss Sourcing and Design and the Next Chapter on Fashion and Sustainability at Bloomsbury Gallery in London on September 4th  while ethical footwear brand Po-Zu’s launched their new SS19 and AW18 collections.

Photo from Pu-Zu. 

The discussions highlighted consumers’ increasing awareness of the harmful consequences of their purchasing decisions, and the growing shift towards vegan fashion that is not just cruelty-free but also plastic-free and environmentally-friendly. 

Sven Segal, Founder and CEO of Po-Zu said: "Everything starts with awareness. Most people are completely unaware of the issues with the footwear and the fashion industry.  My speciality is shoes and I can tell you there are tonnes of really nasty chemicals put into ordinary shoes. There ought to be a list of ingredients if you buy online on the product page much like with food."

On the next chapter for the industry, Safia Minney, MBE, Founder of People Tree and Managing Director of Po-Zu commented: "I see the work of the pioneers informing the agenda. The problem with ethical fashion and footwear brands is that we have to run so fast and compete on an unlevel playing field because we are competing with sweatshop fashion and fashion that is highly polluting and exploitative."

Caryn Franklin MBE, British fashion commentator, Professor of Diversity in Fashion and former Fashion Editor and Co-Editor of i-D Magazine: "It is a case of joining up the dots. If we are looking to be empowered and emboldened by our choices and to feel that to a certain extent we have embodied cognition: that we are feeling good about what we are wearing so therefore we have confidence and self-belief..."

Caryn continued: "If you know that something has been made by somebody in despair, then it has absolutely nothing to contribute to  life and your experience of yourself, because that information, you can't un-know."

On the vegan revolution, the plant-based economy and cruelty-free fashion, Bel Jacobs, freelance fashion journalist and former Style Editor at the Metro said: "The very fact of the matter is that sentient beings are suffering."

Bel added, on the next steps for the industry "I think social media is putting forward stories about what is going on behind the factory walls in a more efficient and devastating way than ever before and I think consumers are going to react to that."

Tamsin Lejeune, CEO of Common Objective and Founder of the Ethical Fashion Forum remarked: "The entire fashion and economic system is dysfunctional. We need tax breaks for ethical fashion pioneers to level the playing field, so they can compete."

Last but not least, on the sharing economy, Zoe Partridge, Founder of wardrobe rental concept, Wear the Walk said "It is about changing people's mindsets and how they consume."

Congratulations to ethical shoe brand Po-Zu! No. ONE again!

Ethical British shoe brand Po-Zu is once again ranked top of the ethical index for shoe & trainers brands for the 11th year.  Having passed their annual independent audit for another consecutive year means that Po-Zu comes highly recommended by The Good Shopping Guide.

Along with multiple sustainability awards, including Best Ethical Fashion Brand 2017, the brand has emerged as a true ethical and sustainable footwear, producing men and women’s vegan shoes and non-leather shoes, ethically handcrafted in Portugal in line with ethical and sustainable standards, using natural materials – including cork, coconut fibre, latex, organic cotton, pure wool tweed, and chrome-free leathers.

The brand’s foundation of ethical principles begins with its mission to change the trend for fast fashion and mass-production of shoes which is eating up resources and exploiting vulnerable workers.

This year Po-Zu also released a collection of official Star Wars branded footwear including a funky range of Rebel Alliance boots and shoes for men, women and children  who are fans of the popular sci-fi series.

Star Wars/Po-Zu co-brand ethical-shoes launched at Museum of Brands, London

In celebration of Force Friday, London-based ethical shoe brand Po-Zu launches its New Star Wars™ shoe collection today at the Museum of Brands, in trendy Notting Hill, London.

The brand's founder and creative director Sven Segal and managing director Safia Minney marked the occasion by wearing their favourite designs from the cutting edge Star Wars™| Po-Zu footwear collection at the presentation.

The new exhibition  is opened until Sunday 12th November. and showcases sustainable shoes inspired by the Star Wars characters including Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, BB-8, Chewbacca and the First Order stormtroopers!

Sven Segal, Founder and Creative Director of Po-Zu says: “We built the range to be collectible but also highly wearable. We wanted the shoes to resonate with the Star Wars community whilst also being commercially designed by incorporating some strong trend-led cues. The craftsmanship and quality have been widely praised – our history of working in partnership with our suppliers has helped us to bring sustainability into this collaboration.”

Karin Kihlberg, Museum Manager says: “We are thrilled to showcase a contemporary brand that leads on creating sustainable products in a highly commercial environment.”

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

One of Po-Zu's new launches today at the Museum of Brands was the iconic Rey knee-high boot as featured in Star Wars™: The Last Jedi.

The Rey leather boot features a fully adjustable calf/rear lace-up system and a convenient side zip. Stitched rather than glued. A built-in shock absorbing coconut fibre Foot-Mattress™ combines with a highly flexible natural rubber sole, with a ‘Star Wars/Po-Zu’ co-brand heat embossed on heel.



The Star Wars/Po-Zu collaboration was launched to the public for pre-order earlier this year. Apart from Rey, other featured key characters in the collection include Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, BB-8 and stormtroopers, alongside high-top Resistance sneakers for men, women and children.

Sven Segal, Founder of Po-Zu says, “With our design aesthetics these boots can be worn for everyday street and fashion-wear and they are possibly the best match out there for character cosplayers. I also love the association with the heroic Star Wars Resistance, as there are parallels with Po-Zu’s mission to resist wasteful and polluting manufacturing methods by using low-impact materials and incorporating sustainable production techniques.”

Fans of the range will be able to view the REY Hi Boot and other styles in person at the exhibition of the collection at the Museum of Brands in Ladbroke Grove, London.

Rey’s mid-calf boot, as featured in Star Wars:™ The Force Awakens.

Ethically made in Portugal by skilful artisan shoemakers using sustainable materials and production processes, this vegetarian boot was inspired by Rey’s iconic mid-calf boot, as featured in Star Wars:™ The Force Awakens.

Rey's mid-calf boot is made with wool tweed with adjustable calf/rear lace-up system and cork details. A built-in shock absorbing coconut fibre Foot-Mattress™ combines with a highly flexible natural rubber sole.
Watch the film  by Christopher Nicholson Price to see how the Rey boot is made.

The  ‘Star Wars™/Po-Zu’ co-brand range has been produced under license with Lucasfilm / Disney, and now available for pre-order on the Po-Zu website.  Other main characters’ boots from the movie include Finn, Poe, Stormtrooper and Chewie, while other more general themed pieces include vegan sneakers made with organic cotton and emblazoned with the Rebel Alliance and BB-8 symbols.
For more information on the UK brand Po-Zu, click here.

Calling all Star Wars fans.

Star Wars™ | Po-Zu co-branded footwear launches pre-orders on Star Wars Day.

© Lucia Carpio 2017

Star Wars fans can now pre-order the official Star Wars | Po-Zu footwear collection inspired by some of the films’ lead characters (under license with Lucasfilm/Disney) on the Pu-Zu website.

Following a highly successful pre-launch at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, USA last month, Po-Zu are offering seven styles of boots to international audiences prior to delivery in August 2017.

© Lucia Carpio 2017

© Lucia Carpio 2017

Sven Segal, Founder and Creative Director of Po-Zu* says: “We built the range to be a collectible but also highly wearable. We wanted the shoes to resonate with the Star Wars community whilst also being commercially designed by incorporating some strong trend-led cues. What was really great about the Orlando show is the craftsmanship and quality were widely praised – our history of working in partnership with our suppliers has helped us to bring our ethics into this range we love.”

Rey Boot.

The Rey boot, which features wool tweed, natural cork, natural latex and the signature Po-Zu Foot-Mattress™, has been authentically designed and crafted to closely resemble the boots worn in the film by Daisy Ridley.

Rey cosplayer Jenny Briggs says: “These boots are the most comfortable I have ever worn and I love that they complete my outfit so perfectly, they are just like the shoes worn in the film.”

Finn Boot in White.

Other main characters’ boots include Finn (as shown here in white), Poe, Stormtrooper and Chewie, while other more general themed pieces include highly versatile vegan sneakers made with organic cotton and emblazoned with the Rebel Alliance and BB-8 symbols.

© Lucia Carpio 2017

The co-branded collection has already received international interest from the press and has been featured in publications and fanzines, such as Jedi News, Footwear Today, the Guardian and Comicbook.com.

The collection covering 6 styles for women, 5 styles for men and 5 styles for children are ready for pre-order on the Po-Zu website.

*London-based sustainable footwear brand Po-Zu was launched in 2006, and currently ranked as the UK’s Number 1 Ethical Shoe Brand by The Ethical Company Organisation.  The word Po-Zu stems from the Japanese ポーズ, meaning ‘to pause’.

Ethical footwear brand Po-Zu launches new Summer 2017 collection

Continuing its ethos as a trully ethical footwear brand, Po-Zu's just launched Summer 2017 collection continues to marry great design with sustainable materials, all handmade in Portugal.  The brand features its signture Po-Zu Foot Mattress™ to bring comfort promising to give a bounce to every step.

The collection features cork sneakers for men, and new feminine flats and wedges for women, using sustainable materials such as cork, organic cotton, Piñatex™ and chrome-free leather.

The Brisk sneaker worn by model above can be customized in more than 21,600 ways of colour combinations to make it the wearer's own design.

Among my favourites for ladies are the “Ello” slip-on plimsolls shown above and the “Wren” wedges here at right, available in gold, silver, cream and black. Made with sustainable textile Piñatex™, I'm told these designs give outstanding performance in durability and breathability, whilst also being one of the most ecologically-viable vegan alternatives to leather.

Po-Zu’s ergonomic design and comfort features include shock-absorbing natural latex-cushioned inserts, a highly comfortable shape, and a beech wood wedge from sustainably-managed forests in Spain.

Sven Segal, the founder of the Po-Zu and its managing director Safia Minney (founder of sustainable fashion brand People Tree) talked to My Fashion Connect Global in March this year about the sustainable materials they use and the new designs in their new office in north London.  Click here to read more about Po-Zu.

Po-Zu executives talk of sustainable footwear and collaboration with STAR WARS™

They speak of pineapple leaf and coconut fibres, cork and other sustainable materials.  Sounds like an exotic cocktail of tropical delights? Not quite, but the ingredients for these ethical footwear are indeed enticing.

Sven Segal, the founder of the Po-Zu brand of eco-footwear hand-made in Portugal and its managing director Safia Minney (founder of sustainable fashion brand People Tree) were introducing their new footwear collection for men, women and children at a press event this March in their new north London office.

When you have two great minds joining up to push with passion for products that are kind to the environment and to our well-being, their enthusiasm rubs off and appeals to our desire for design aesthetic and values.
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The name Po-Zu stems from the Japanese verb ポーズ that means to pause, bringing with it a notion of stopping to think about the impact of modern footwear and look at ways to halt the damage caused to us and the planet by the exploitive working conditions in the leather industry.

Sven and Safia trumpeted their resourcefulness in producing an ethical shoe brand made of an impressive variety of sustainable materials for the different styles for everyday wear.

They also took the opportunity to preview the co‐branded STAR WARS™ / PO‐ZU collection, which includes high quality replicas of footwear worn in the films by some of the key characters, under licence with Lucasfilm/Disney.

To read in full, click HERE.

All photos © Lucia Carpio 2017.