Just over two years ago we launched aspect climate projects with the vision of creating the world’s most climate-conscious shoe brand.  Now that we have closed, I have mixed feelings in saying that I still think that in many ways we achieved it. I’m certainly proud of what we created, but equally disappointed not to have seem more innovation in the industry in the time since. 
 
aspect climate projects was started with a mixture of frustration and optimism. Frustration from the lack of change and rife greenwashing, yet optimism that by looking at traditional materials and innovative new developments, genuine change was possible. It was, and it still is!
 
Sadly, for us the timing wasn’t right to continue the brand. The cost of living crisis, increasing prices, and without the huge marketing budgets of larger brands we struggled to get our voice heard.  It’s an incredibly hard time to run a small brand selling incredibly high-spec shoes even at the lowest price we possibly can. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for other bigger brands. The learnings and opportunities are very much still out in the world, so we encourage you to continue to believe that change can be made.

Creating any business can be a tough and lonely experience, and when trying to do things radically differently, going against the flow of an entire industry, that challenge is magnified. I can truly say that the words of encouragement and enthusiasm played a massive role in helping us get the brand launched. 
 
There were more times than I care to think of where stopping things seemed the wise choice. Wearing a ‘commercial hat’ they probably would have been the right choices. But even though aspect climate projects will be taking a break for the time being, I’m glad we managed to get it out into the world. To show that things could be done differently, and if that means more of us consider what we consume and feel more empowered to question what the industry tells us, then that means everything was worthwhile. As a tiny company, we were never going to change the world by selling better shoes, but hopefully we helped make some impact by helping to arm more people with the knowledge about what’s inside a shoe.

Thank you for all of your orders, and your support.
 
All the best,
Alex