The founder of Zalando wouldn't write you an email like that!
Right now, I'm in the middle of thinking about how to develop the eshop, and rather than making decisions alone, I thought it would be best to ask you to participate, since after all, you're the ones who are most concerned!
My questions concern the places of manufacture of the products that I reference.
As I explain in my article on brand selection criteria (what, you haven't read it yet?! It's not too late: right here ): until now, I have favored European manufacturing , simply so that workers' rights are respected as much as possible. Also, since environmental impact is an important criterion to take into account, local manufacturing partly avoids the pollution caused by the transport of goods.
But here it is, to grow the eshop and offer more choice , both in terms of style and price , I plan to offer you products made outside of Europe . I started to do this with the brand Ashoka Paris which produces part of its leather goods in Thailand. The founders of Ashoka, Frédérique and Gwenaëlle, explained to me that they chose this workshop for its know-how , they go there regularly and can see with their own eyes that the seamstresses work in excellent conditions , sometimes even better than in France where there are tiny basement workshops where employees work impossible hours...
I am always on the lookout for brands that offer beautiful vegan items , and there are some that I had forbidden myself from distributing on the pretext that they manufacture outside Europe.
Today, I question this point: does it make sense to stay stuck on this? Isn't the most important thing that the products are made in good conditions regardless of the location? As long as the brand managers have real values regarding animal and human well-being , just like the founders of Ashoka Paris, and take care to choose a reliable workshop .
What do you think? Here's a short survey (one question only!) that will help me decide:
