What are our missions (2)?

The link between responsible sneakers and animal protection

As a reminder, here is the title of our mission: to contribute to the environmental cause (in particular the preservation of endangered species) through commitment (human, financial) and positive communication.

We mentioned in the previous article the marketing of sneakers as a means of carrying out this mission as well as our sustainability criteria, whether it affects the product or the brand as a whole. Today we are going to tell you about our commitment to NGOs and what we mean by positive communication.

We thought this brand for those who expect more than more cleanly produced sneakers. Of course, we respect the brands that have thought about the impact of their production methods from the start. Producing cleanly and respectfully is a great start. If a majority of people opted for local brands, respectful of their factories and concerned about the materials they use, the fashion industry would already be healthier. We simply seek to involve more people who follow us by being more than a responsible sneaker brand. So how to go beyond?

Dla moulaga, give them dla moulaga

Our first decision is to donate a percentage of our tax-free turnover to our first partner NGO: the Sumatran Rainforest Institute. It is a small local association located on the island of Sumatra. They do incredible work throughout the year to ensure the protection of the island's primary forest and the preservation of its endemic species threatened with extinction (including the Sumatran orangutan, the Sumatra, Sumatran rhinoceros and Sumatran tiger). We met them in October 2019 and wrote a presentation of all their actions here . We strongly invite you to read this text in order to discover the reality of the field work of the SRI which does not spend its time cuddling animals (unfortunately we spent more time with leeches than with cute baby monkeys) .

We have chosen to work with a single NGO for the moment with the aim of being able to quickly extend our network of partners to other highly threatened areas (Amazonia, African savannah, Chinese forests and mountains, etc.). We prefer to support an NGO with a significant impact on its activity rather than having 10 to look pretty with a derisory impact. So how much do we intend to give them concretely? We have chosen to pay 1% of our turnover excluding VAT. Yes we agree it's not much… so why don't we give more? If we would like to be able to pay more, we nevertheless have major profitability issues. Producing in Portugal with raw materials still little used in the basketball industry is expensive. And since we don't want to offer you sneakers at 250€, we have to work with very tight margins. In this context, giving more than 1% becomes very complicated. Despite everything, we fear that this will only have a weak impact on the IRS if we follow our initial sales assumptions, which are ambitious but measured as a young brand. Precisely we are ambitious and would like to be able very soon to provide significant assistance to this NGO, especially since the situation there is rather urgent.

So what to do?

“Without him, nothing can be done; It passes quickly and slowly; And often we lose it; We can't catch up with him anymore” - Father Fouras – 1991

During our visit to the SRI, we quickly noticed how much they lacked time (end of the riddle) and resources (financial, human). We would need more people on the ground, more equipment, but for that we would need more money. To obtain the benefits of funds, you have to talk about your various projects, present them, make them shine beyond Sumatra and make people want to support them. And then there are good initiatives that are not very expensive but could nevertheless have a great impact on the forest. All of this takes time and some skills. These small grassroots NGOs lack both, and that is precisely where we can help. We (the MEEKO team) first thought of dedicating one day a month to SRI, putting our skills (so many by the way) at their disposal. We wanted to offer them time and contribute to the development of the NGO by carrying out secondary projects (in their eyes) which are nevertheless so important (redesign of the graphic identity or translation of the site into French, for example). This idea made its way, we liked it more and more, so much so that we thought it would be a shame not to share it with you.

We think that many people (including us) have a binary vision of the non-profit world, either we give money (without really knowing where it goes, which is boring when we don't have much) or we participates in field missions in his city or at the end of the world (volunteering which often costs a good ticket).

Our idea is to offer you another alternative (which can perfectly complement the previous ones), free and without geographical constraints: that of putting your knowledge/skills to work by participating in workshops organized by our teams on a Saturday each months (or more frequently depending on the success of this initiative). These one-day workshops will be held with the aim of meeting a need identified upstream with our team and that of the SRI. This could affect all areas, from marketing to finance, including logistics or translation.

We are firmly convinced that these workshops will have a very strong added value for the NGO that we support but also for you, the participants, who will bring concrete help to this worthy cause. If it works well, we may even decide to support other NGOs in addition to the SRI earlier than planned by offering them skills assistance before we can complete with financial assistance. It all depends on you! If you want to be informed of the next workshop in your city, subscribe to our newsletter. We will obviously make sure that these workshops do not make you regret having grilled on a Saturday (and then it will change you from the hangover / Netflix combo).

Tomorrow's influencers

Helping these NGOs also means dealing with the causes upstream, before the consequences. Causes that are often directly linked to our way of life and on which we can act as a consumer. This is why we would like to share our vision and our convictions with the thousands of young urbanites who, like us, do not necessarily have a way of life very close to nature and who nevertheless feel very concerned by the current environmental situation. .

We dream of inspiring our generation and the following with this idea that we can contribute to a more responsible society without necessarily giving up everything that makes us happy. We think that the majority of you are aware of the environmental issues we face. Fewer are those able to change their way of life without an outside influence, a model, a motivation. There is, in our view, a certain analogy between the search for sustainability at a brand like MEEKO and the search for a more sustainable way of life at Mr./Madam everyone. Everyone takes and will take steps, more or less big, to gradually move towards something better. Each at his own pace, each according to his environment, his means, his knowledge, his motivation, his deep convictions. Everyone will learn to accept and love challenges and compromises, to thrive with their new habits, achieve a goal and then set a new one.

The lasting message can be very extreme and harsh, which is often what pushes people away. We want to have a more human approach and be creative to make you want to love sustainable development (if you're there it's probably already the case, but you can surely do a little better). This is what is meant by positive communication. Highlight the advances, the great initiatives, the successes, make coherent partnerships, events around this theme of sustainable development. All while keeping a positive attitude without hiding the face as to the impact of our actions or the seriousness of the current situation. We hope to acquire a certain legitimacy over time and inspire you on a daily basis. It's quite a challenge because spreading a responsible message while being imperfect ourselves exposes us to certain obvious criticisms. We're comfortable with that, A STEP CLOSER. And if, beyond offering a nice clean alternative to current sneakers, we can inspire some to constantly look for the extra small step in favor of the planet, we will already be very happy.

As you have understood, our impact largely depends on you! So whenever you hear a friend say that he/she is trying to give more meaning to what he/she does (it's common these days), you know where to send him/her. It will already be a good start. 😊

Thanks for reading.

See you soon,

The MEEKO team