Oliver Co. London
Oliver Co. is a sustainable, progressive accessory brand that creates highly functional products with the goal to have a low environmental impact, through transparency and innovation. This London-based brand is on a mission to create sustainable men’s and women’s accessories, without compromising on style or functionality. Each design in their contemporary collection of vegan accessories is ethically handcrafted using innovative low-impact materials.
They have been featured in Independent's IndyBest segment, with their Compact Wallet being named the IndyBest wallet. Other mentions include GQ, the Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph, Grazia, and Stylist.
About the Founder
The company was launched in 2017 by Matt Oliver, who previously worked at a design consultancy, designing watches for some of the biggest luxury brands in world. During his time there, he had personally been trying to change the way he shopped and move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Yet what he was seeing on the market were products that were lacking in desirability, looks and functionality.
At the same time, there were a number of suppliers releasing new innovative low impact materials that Matt believed had huge potential. He saw an opportunity to try and change people’s perceptions of sustainability, drawing on his past experience, and build an accessory brand that created great-looking functional products with sustainability built into its foundations from the outset.
“We aim to change people’s perceptions of sustainability and, through using innovative new fabrics and working with high-end manufacturers, create minimalistic functional designs that outlive fashion’s seasonal trends. We’re only just seeing the start of bio-material innovation and there are lots of exciting developments to come.”
Materials
The apple leather used by the brand is an Italian-made material created using the leftover pomace and peel from the fruit juice and compote industry. The fabric is created by reducing this waste to a powder, processing it, combining it with polyurethane and coating it onto a canvas. The result is a durable but soft fabric that is perfect for hard-wearing small accessories. By using renewable resources that would otherwise be sent to landfill or burnt, the fabric requires less water and considerably reduces its CO2 impact compared to other leathers and faux leathers on the market.
The brand also uses wood leather produced in Karlsruhe, Germany. It is made by using very thin sheets of wood applied to a cotton canvas. The wood is then cut with micro laser etchings, which allows it to be sewn, transformed and assembled like leather.
All linings in Oliver Co designs are made from either GOTS-certified organic cotton or Oeko-tex-certified recycled polyester.
People and Production
The brand works with a Turkish manufacturer and material suppliers, and conduct self-assessment to ensure that a high standard of human rights and ethics are maintained from production of the materials through to the product manufacturing. The company favours full auditing to allow them to assure that their partners are operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Packaging
Oliver Co ships their designs in boxes made from recycled card. Each product is carefully wrapped in recycled tissue paper and accompanied by the brand's recycled info cards.
The brand's supplier has a factory in Cornwall and purchases their packaging from the UK whenever possible. Also they help small businesses by donating 10% of their profits to help start-ups grow.
Animals
Oliver Co's journey towards becoming a vegan brand started with their concern about the environmental and ethical impact of the leather industry. At the same time there were a number of incredible innovations in vegan bio-based materials being developed all around the world. Going vegan was an easy choice – and one that was integral to them as a company.
To discover more like this, visit our men’s vegan wallets and cardholders and men's vegan belts collections.
You can read more about vegan leather in our articles Does Ethical Leather Exist – and What is Vegan Leather? and What is Vegan Leather Made From – and is it Sustainable?
