Osklen is a contemporary brand committed to an ‘As Sustainable As Possible, As Soon As Possible’ philosophy, constantly evolving ways to enhance the sustainability scope of the brand, supported by Instituto-e, a non-profit organisation dedicated to sustainable development.
Oskar Metsavaht, founder and Creative Director of Osklen, is also the founder of Instituto-e, an OSCIP (Civil Society Organization of Public Interest) – that fulfill its mission by creating and managing a network that enhances synergies between different society agents. It bases itself on environmental, cultural and educational initiatives of social responsibility and assistance, inspired on the e-brigade movement – a call to action so people can be As Sustainable As Possible, As Soon As Possible. The institute develops and implements environmental projects inspired by the concept of the 6 E’s - Earth, Environment, Energy, Education, Empowerment, and Economics – with the goal to promote human sustainable development mainly in Brazil, but also in other countries, through creative thinking and action.
Together with Osklen, Instituto-E has developed several projects involving training, empowerment and income generation to small communities and groups of women that live in vulnerable conditions inside Brazil and abroad. These include, Morro do Banco (RJ-Brazil), Queimados (RJ-Brazil), Cantagalo (RJ-Brazil), Santa Luzia do Itanhy (SE-Brazil),Itaperuna (RJ-Brazil), Remígio (PB-Brazil) and Port-au-Prince (Haiti). These projects include, among others, carbon and water footprint tracking, community gardens implementation, research and development of new sustainable materials to be used mainly by the fashion industry and the implementation and maintenance of Restinga´s sand banks throughout the beaches of Ipanema, Leblon e Prainha,.
Sustainability is one of the core pillars upon which the brand was founded. It is a crucial guideline for the design and development of Osklen’s collections, which are created with a deep respect for local communities and the environment surrounding them.
In 2019, Osklen was awarded the CO 10 Leadership award by Common Objective. The awards recognise pioneers and celebrate leaders and disruptors in the space of sustainable fashion. The CO leadership award demonstrates Osklen’s commitment to sustainability and best practice.
Osklen brings innovative, environmentally responsible materials to the luxury market. These are called ‘e-fabrics’ and include organic cotton, organic silk, recycled cotton, recycled PET, organic jute, Salmon and Pirarucu fish leather and LWG Gold certified leather, among others.
The latest Forest collection, FW19, reuses wood sourced from panels taken from demolished buildings in collaboration with Rio do Sul’s Proposta Verde.
Osklen’s bovine leather comes from LWG Gold Rated Brazilian tannery Krumenauer S/A. After undergoing a thorough audit from the Leather Working Group, Krumenauer S/A tannery was awarded with the highest rating, Gold.
The Leather Working Group audits and measures company practices such as utilization of restricted substances, traceability, water and waste management and energy consumption.
Osklen has been working with the tannery Nova Kaeru to source their Pirarucu leather for the last 10 years. Nova Kaeru has developed and uses their own low impact tanning method called L.I.V.E.™ (LOW INPUT VAST EFFECT). L.I.V.E.™ is an innovative and 100% biological process that uses only vegetable oils and a mix of biodegradable products and organic dyes. This means that the leather is free from harmful chemicals, nanoparticles, synthetic dyes and artificial fragrances. Nowadays, Pirarucu is present in 48% of Osklen´s leather accessories.
Osklen works with Pirarucu leather, which supports traditional farming techniques as well as the communities and the local environment. The Pirarucu fish is sourced either from strictly monitored farms, or through fishing by riverside communities in the Amazon region.
Pirarucu has traditionally been fished for food, with the skin historically discarded. But, together with Nova Kaeru and Instituto-E, Osklen helped to develop this waste by-product into a new luxury material which is used in all of Osklen’s accessory collections. In creating demand for this new material, Osklen is able to further support the local community and economy. The main social benefits include improvement of the conditions of riparian communities in the Amazon region, not only with income generation, but with support for long-term initiatives such as training programs.
Pirarucu fish are cultivated in small-scale farms that are privately owned by families. The farms comply with IBAMA environmental quotas and standards. Additionally, they are also audited regarding social and environmental criteria every six months by Mar e Terra, who purchase the fish and sell the meat to supermarkets, and the skins to Nova Kaeru for tanning. The farmers are trained by Mar e Terra every six months to comply with their criteria, including how to avoid causing distress to the animals.
When the fish skin comes directly from the community, the sale of the skin, as a by-product of the fish meat, generates a 30% increase in the income of fishermen. 378 riverside communities, in the State of Amazon and the State of Acre, have been provided with income through fishing Pirarucu.
Osklen together with Instituto-E and Nova Kaeru can trace Pirarucu skins back to the specific fishing community or farm through stamps provided by IBAMA.
The number of stamps produced by IBAMA is set according to the quota of fish allowed to be caught that season. Before the beginning of each seasonal fishing period, IBAMA’s staff visit the communities and count how many of the species exist. They then set this quota, allowing each community to catch up to 30%. This is to make sure that sustainable stock management practices are being followed, ensuring that that number of fish does not deplete. Since the implementation of the sustainable management plan, twenty years ago, the Pirarucu stock has increased 427%.
Osklen continues to work with Instituto-e to build upon connecting communities with initiatives to drive social and environmental progress in Brazil.
Osklen’s latest FW19 collection experiments with natural dyes: using ingredients such as turmeric, urucum and chlorophyll. The extraction of pigment from these natural dyes results in unique colours. These are our ‘e-colours’.
Osklen are increasing their use of recycled cotton in their collections. This means that we are reducing our use of water and chemicals, which are used intensely in the cultivation of virgin cotton. In 2017, Osklen saved 222.6 million liters of water due to the sustainable practices adopted in its productions (data collected by Instituto-E in partnership with COPPEAD-UFRJ - Institute of Post-Graduation and Research in Administration of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).
As part of the SS19 Oceans Campaign Collection, Osklen partnered up with an initaive that facilitated the collection of more than 270,000 plastic bottles (1.9 tons) from the environment. Some of which were recycled to make the recycled PET material used within the collection.
The SS19 Oceans Campaign Collection represents a call to action for the protection of the oceans and those living within it. This forms a key part of their ASAP philosophy.
Osklen is utilising reused rubber waste and straw which is a by-product from rice farming for some of their shoe soles.
Additionally, Osklen donates – through Instituto-E - post production leftover fabrics to community groups of weavers so they can transform them into other products, promoting social inclusion, increasing their income and strengthening the chain of socially responsible products.
Our US packaging boxes are made from 100% recycled content and are also fully recyclable.
