An eco-friendly & ethical brand

sustainable forest

ECO-FRIENDLY COLLECTIONS

Because we are keen to provide you with materials that are more respectful for you and our planet, we offer you socks and tights made from healthy and ecological raw materials certified STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX. Yarns and dyes used are guaranteed to be non-toxic to health and the environment.

We offer bamboo socks and modal socks. By choosing these ecological fibers from sustainable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly resources, you opt for top-of-the-range quality and adopt an eco-responsible approach.


ECODESIGN PACKAGE

To ship our orders, we use 90% kraft packaging boxes made from recycled materials . The remaining 10% comes from wood from sustainable and ethical sources , which are transformed into wood pulp after disposal of the box. Thanks to the durability of corrugated cardboard, each box can be opened and closed thousands of times, extending its use and its ecological value.

Our boxes are printed with vegetable ink for reduced impact on the environment and are fully recyclable. No glue is used in the production process. To effectively close all our packages while respecting the environment, we use a natural kraft tape which is also recyclable.

Our labels are made from 100% recycled paper and renewable material such as cane fiber.


ZERO PLASTIC

Packaging is the main source of pollution, especially in marine environments. Petroleum-based plastic only increases this pollution problem and has a huge impact on the environment and the wildlife that lives there. We do not use any plastic butenvironmentally friendly tissue paper, made from fibers from responsible management certified forests and produced without acid and without chlorine.

For all these reasons our packaging are perfectly eco-designed.


A CO2 NEUTRAL DELIVERY

Our partners in charge of transporting our orders offset the CO2 emissions linked to the delivery of our packages. The principle of compensation is simple: it is a question of helping a third party to capture or not to emit the quantity of greenhouse gases that one does not have oneself - even managed to avoid. For example by investing in a renewable energy, energy saving project or even in a reforestation project.


DIGITAL DOCUMENTS & ECOLOGICAL SEARCH ENGINE

In accordance with our desire to engage in an environmentally friendly approach, we do not print any documents. We send our customers and suppliers digital invoices to reduce our impact on the environment.

The Kolibri team use an ecological search engine : Ecosia. Every 45 searches done, a tree is planted somewhere in the world, which is good for the environment, people and local economies.



ETHICAL & ECO-RESPONSIBLE MANUFACTURING

Our socks are made in our family workshop in Otavalo, a town in the Ecuadorian Andes, in a relatively small local community, that of the Otavalos, one of the indigenous peoples of Ecuador. The Kichwa Otavalo community resides for the most part in the province of Imbabura, in the north of the country and is characterized in particular by its language, Kichwa, a variant of Quechua, which it shares with the other indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian "sierra", as well as by its long tradition of textile craftsmanship and commercial exchange, reflected today by the important market in the city of Otavalo, one of the most famous in all of Latin America.


We are proud to contribute to the socio-economic development of the city of Otavalo and generate many internal and external jobs improving the quality of life for many local families and their environment.

Our eco-responsible socks are made in good working conditions for employees of the workshop who are obviously all over the age of majority and fairly remunerated. They are paid between $550 and $700 per month. The minimum wage in Ecuador is $400. Each employee works 40 hours per week - the legal duration in Ecuador - with two days of weekly rest. 

The manufacturing processes of our socks generate clean and sustainable activity with respect to the environment. This eco-responsible approach allowed our workshop to obtain the Environmental License granted by the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador.

We have a real environmental management policy since we recycle all inputs from manufacturing, such as yarn waste, lint, covers, cardboard boxes, etc.


OUR MANUFACTURING PROCESS

K. Product selection

    • Design

We design the style and characteristics that we want to give to the socks.

    • Raw Material

We select the raw materials that will be used, the main yarns such as : combed cotton, bamboo or modal and the complementary yarns for elasticity and resistance : elastane, polyamide, etc.

    • Textile recipe

We determine the technical composition of the sock : the main fiber corresponds to 75/80% of the finished product and the remaining 20/25% constitute the secondary fibers. This recipe guarantees the quality of the weave so that the socks have elasticity and resistance and keep their shape. 

O.  Weaving

The weaving is carried out by human intervention and technology allowing within the manufacture of socks according to the highest established quality standards.

L.  Re-meshing

Remeshing involves closing the toe of the sock with a flat seam that will not cause discomfort when wearing the sock.

One of KOLIBRI's strengths is to also offer seamless socks, the closure of which is completely invisible and imperceptible, thus guaranteeing absolute comfort to the user.

I.  Ironing

Ironing is carried out using a machine that generates steam, at a specific temperature depending on the type of material, thus ensuring an excellent presentation of the finished product.

B. Specific additions

Some socks require, depending on their characteristics and their usefulness, a contribution of added value, such as for example the addition of non-slip, heel protectors, seam for the tights, etc.

R.  Labeling, coding and packaging

These repetitive tasks have recently been carried out by a latest generation electronic machine which automates these processes.

I. Quality Control

Quality controls are carried out from the initial stages of production, such as the selection of raw materials, until obtaining the finished product.

Discover our family workshop