PRIVATO is Likely a Vegan Brand

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PRIVATO Brand Overview

"I understood that I would have to avoid any unnecessary additional costs that could affect the final sale price  (such as costs for communication, distribution, logistics agencies, ...) taking care of everything internally together with my wonderful team, strongly believing that a fair selling price was much more important than the expansion and notoriety of the brand itself (at the expense of customers)." - Adriana Mariano, COO and Co-Founder

About PRIVATO

"Our ethics are based on: an exclusively Italian workforce to protect our workers; on slow fashion and production of small quantities; on the recovery of all the waste accrued over time; on the use of innovative cruelty-free, vegetable and certified materials." - PRIVATO team

Is PRIVATO an ethically vegan brand?

Based on their many public-facing materials, PRIVATO appears to be an intentionally vegan brand.

What materials are used to make their shoes?

PRIVATO will list a fairly detailed breakdown of each shoe on their website, within that shoe's description. In general however, they incorporate the following materials:
Nylon (PA): Fully synthetic and/or bio-based versions
Polyurethane (PU): Synthetic and/or bio-based versions
Natural jute
Cotton: Natural and/or organic
Thermoplastic rubber (TR): Synthetic and/or recycled
Polyethersulfone (PES)
Plantable paper (for their labels)
Polyester

Are PRIVATO shoes eco-friendly/sustainable?

From an environmentally-friendly materials standpoint, some of PRIVATO shoes, boots & sandals are at least somewhat eco-friendly, as they do incorporate many natural and/or recycled materials into their designs. They also focus on durability, which is a key factor in sustainability. They do not currently use any tools or programs that can quantify and share the eco-friendliness of their products, other than sharing vague breakdowns of the materials used in each shoe. And while the virgin man-made synthetics they use in other models are generally considered worse for the environment than recycled synthetics, or natural materials, those virgin synthetic materials are still considered to be more environmentally friendly than animal-derived leathers. This is backed up by data from inside the fashion industry as well as outside of it. For the data, please see Collective Fashion Justice’s CIRCUMFAUNA initiative.

Does production of their shoes create a lot of CO2 emissions?

From a carbon footprint standpoint, it's difficult to asses the impact that PRIVATO has, and what they do to remediate it. The brand does not currently provide data as to their environmental impact or remediation efforts, so it's difficult to accurately asses them in these areas.

Does PRIVATO use ‘green’ shipping methods?

Yes! They have a "DHL GoGreen" shipping option available at checkout.

Do they use eco-friendly packaging?

Yes! According to the brand, "The packaging of our eco-friendly vegan shoes is 100% plastic-free. Our boxes are made from recycled paper. Each order is packaged in natural paper and vegetable adhesive tape."

Are PRIVATO shoes recyclable?

Yes! Your old PRIVATO shoes can be sent to Eco Sport and turned into playground and athletic surfaces.

Does PRIVATO have a shoe recycling program?

PRIVATO is partnered with Eco Sport to turn their old shoes into playground and athletic surfaces. In order to participate in their program however, you have to buy a €10 voucher from PRIVATO's website, but PRIVATO will send you a 15% discount code off of your next purchase when purchasing this voucher.

Where can I buy their shoes?

PRIVATO shoes can be purchased from their website, and can be shipped worldwide. We've asked them if they have plans to work with retailers, and they told us, "At the moment we only sell online. We have not undertaken any commercial sales as we would like to concentrate distribution with our small family business without having to increase the sales prices to cover extra agent costs."

Do PRIVATO shoes ever go on sale?

Yes - when visiting their website, we noticed many models marked down from a higher price. We're not sure if it's a genuine sale or a sales tactic.

Where are PRIVATO shoes made?

Their shoes are made in Puglia, Italy.

Are they made with fair labour?

Yes! PRIVATO shoes are made in Italy, which means their labourers are protected by the stringent labour laws of the European Union, which also include strong health and safety regulations.

Does PRIVATO promote ‘slow fashion’ or a ‘circular economy’?

PRIVATO follows many circular economy principles: they employ fair labour; have a lot of timeless models; make their shoes close to their headquarters; have a recycling program; use eco-friendly packaging; use paper-based tape; have an eco-friendly shipping option; and incorporate many recycled and natural materials. On the other hand, use way too many non-sustainable materials (such as non-organic cotton, which is a horrible polluter), and far too many virgin plastics (such as polyester in their shoe laces) in our opinion.

Is PRIVATO a charitable company?

The PRIVATO team has told us that they occasionally participate in charitable activities (although no details were provided).

PRIVATO Product Range

PRIVATO makes a wide range of women's footwear (and some men's sneakers), some of which have a classic and timeless style, with other styles that are more trend-driven. Their models tend more towards minimalism than bold adornment, and sell at a lower-mid to mid-range price point. Their current catalogue includes: