In everyday life we love to laugh, lots and lots of it, but when it comes to Nomasei's core values, our lightheartedness gives way to the seriousness required to generate a positive impact .
By creating Nomasei, we took the risk of abandoning our secure careers in large luxury houses in order to commit ourselves to restoring meaning to our profession by offering a responsible and sustainable alternative , as well as to responding to the need for meaning and change of our generation.
As proof, we set out here in complete transparency the values , objectives and commitments that guide our daily approach.
To build this new ecosystem, we rely on 5 pillars.
Paul & Marine
PILLAR I - a luxury and responsible product
Our raison d'être is to offer a quality product, at a fair price, sustainable, with a controlled environmental and human impact . To give ourselves the means for our ambition, we gave shares of Nomasei to our manufacturer in order to include its know-how in our value chain. This means that we control what we produce and how we produce it.
We work with restraint, quality and simplicity and our products must meet two principles: a sense of responsibility and sustainability . Design and commitment now go hand in hand.
Our factory
In the fashion industry, the garment part is often the most opaque element and the one that raises the most questions about its integrity. Our manufacturer not only shares our values of human and environmental respect but also has great expertise.
Located in the village of Montopoli in Tuscany, founded about twenty years ago by two friends and today managed by the 3 sons of the founders, the factory has about forty employees.
Its approach is already exemplary thanks to various elements such as:
The questioning of processes to be ever more virtuous. The use of clean materials such as solvent-free glue. The relationships of trust, fairness and respect they maintain with their employees The network of small family businesses they have built and with which they share the same values.
The factory makes production even more sustainable and further improves working conditions.
The map of our suppliers
To meet our criteria of transparency, fair price and respect for our customers, we do not relocate any operation carried out on our shoes: everything - from the cutting of the leather to the fitting of the shoe - is done in Tuscany at a maximum distance of 55km from the factory. As a result, we are creating a virtuous, resilient, fairer and more sustainable ecosystem. This proximity also allows us to make these partners aware of their environmental and human impact by fully integrating them into the project.
Our materials
- COTTON: Our cotton is GOTS certified organic
- LEATHER: We choose our leathers initially for their aesthetic qualities and comfort, but also and above all because they meet ethical and sustainable requirements.
In our approach to offer a product that lasts, our leathers are of very high quality and come from tanneries that we know personally after thirty years of combined experience.
Thus, we know where the animals bred to produce these skins come from, what processes were used for the tannery, and under what conditions these tanneries are managed.
All our leathers are Reach certified. Some tanneries which are large structures hold certifications (ecological leather certification, leather traceability certification, etc.) or are part of the Leather Working Group.
Vegetable leather - Metal free leather
Many things are said about "ethical" leathers and in particular many claim vegetable tanned leather as the most ethical because its tanning process is made from vegetable tannins from plants.
It is true that vegetable tanned leather can be a more virtuous option, but it is not the only one and above all it is not suitable for all products and in particular for footwear because it is a drier leather, thicker and rougher.
We therefore favor the leather alternative known as “Metal Free” . This means that no metal is used for tanning. No chromium 3, no chromium 6 or any other metal or chemical process, but a synthetic process. The disadvantage of this type of tanning, just like vegetable tanned leather, is that it uses more water. But, since this water is much less polluted than with traditional tanning, tanneries are now able to reuse it, thus creating a closed circuit.
This is why it represents for us the best option to date, both from an ecological point of view and for the flexibility, the depth of color and the roundness of the hand provided.
Why not make vegan leather?
Many have asked us why we don't use vegan leather when we claim to be a sustainable brand.
The answer revolves around 3 points:
- Vegan leather is not a long term sustainable alternative. Firstly because in 90% of cases it is materials derived from plastic and petroleum, which makes it a synthetic material that ages badly over time. Replacing leather with materials derived from petroleum does not seem to us to be an ecological solution.
- We know leather isn't perfect, but there's also a reason why the material has been used for thousands of years to produce quality products that last. Today, it is still the most suitable material, at least for shoes, because the beautiful leather, if well cared for, improves over time and can last for decades.
- Vegan leather is not suitable for footwear. A shoe needs to breathe because feet tend to sweat during the day. However, Vegan leather being chemical and plastic-based, it is waterproof and the foot does not breathe normally, sweats and ends up hurting. This is also why leather, a natural material, remains the most suitable.
creative process
Going against the frenetic pace of fashion to which even the big houses have now submitted, we choose a slower pace, which respects the constraints of our product.
This allows us to ensure each piece gets the attention and care it deserves.
Our creative process works organically but above all is based on several fundamental elements.
- We work hand in hand with the manufacturer from the first drafts to understand the technical feasibility and thus optimize our time and resources.
- Our product must have a utility, a function and be part of aesthetic and qualitative durability to be timeless.
- We do not choose between design and commitment. Design is the essential element because our primary role is to make it beautiful, but above all we must do it correctly and respect our ethical commitments. If they cannot be met, then the project is abandoned or postponed until the right way to do it is found.
- We take all the time necessary and do not rush anything. A shoe requires an average of 80 operations, from the carved wooden shape to the boxing. We take much longer to design our shoes than other leading brands. The attention paid to each stage of production is extreme and uncompromising.
- We are our first customers and consumers and probably the most demanding. As long as the product does not fully satisfy us, we continue to refine it.
PILLAR II - transparency
Committing to a sustainable and responsible project, which redraws the contours of the industry, implies being anchored in reality, knowing one's weaknesses and strengths, and assuming them in order to better correct them. To be in a perpetual questioning, to take its responsibilities and to assume them, in all transparency.
All our decision-making, doubts, progress are shared with our internal collaborators and our customers. And as much as possible, we rely on tangible figures and data to meet this commitment.
Our carbon objectives
Reducing and controlling carbon emissions is THE main challenge in the face of global warming, and is therefore part of our approach. But we strongly believe that compensation is only relevant if the business model is already virtuous and minimizes its impact. Compensating at all costs while remaining within a productivist model of expansion makes no sense to us.
Today : we can claim to be a Low Carbon company because we minimize our emissions as much as possible:
By producing locally: all our components are produced around 40km around the factory and 90% of our raw materials come from Europe (Italy, France, Holland)
We take a frugal attitude. We only develop what we absolutely believe in. And we have a development philosophy of only creating products that we know will last a long time.
We recycle our waste, minimize our transport . We are in an economy of means throughout the chain. “Less is more”.
Tomorrow : We are a low carbon company but we produce in Italy and ship worldwide, living in an open economy. Our carbon footprint is therefore very real and we will do our best to offset it.
Naively, we thought that in 6 months we would achieve it. But the importance of the subject is such that we cannot content ourselves with affixing a "carbon neutral" label to our shoes until we have found the most optimal solution for this compensation.
recyclable and clean heel
The heels are always made of ABS which is a plastic resin that is particularly resistant and malleable but difficult to recycle. We have just found its equivalent but with a manufacturing process that consumes 65% less electricity, has a 90% lower carbon footprint, and uses 99% less water.
PILLAR III - reinventing the company
We are building Nomasei on a new growth philosophy. We are a company, so it is natural to seek profitability, but expansion at all costs is not part of our values. We favor quality over quantity, and want more than anything to remain free in our choices.
a reasonable model
This is why we have based our associate pact on the values of sustainability, ethical and social commitment. None of the partners can derogate from it.
Nomasei was built differently, we value our independence and remain a company on a human scale. The small size makes our brand more agile and free to respond with commitment to each of the challenges we encounter.
Our desire is therefore to grow enough to preserve know-how and territories, to encourage initiatives with a positive social impact and to participate in making this world a healthier place.
Our margins
Luxury fashion has never cost so much and yet the products have never been so low quality. There was a time when buying a luxury product or a premium product meant that we would keep it for a long time, but this is no longer necessarily the case and we lack qualitative alternatives.
To put an end to this harmful system, we have an obsession: the fairest price possible so that as many people as possible can access our offer.
For this we focus our expenses on the element that seems most important to us: the product. We are uncompromising and especially on the quality of our materials.
Where our competitors multiply their cost exponentially, and practice unreasonable margins, we have decided to control ours. In particular because only 15% of our budget is dedicated to communication while our competitors who spend 80%. Our online distribution model, more agile, and without intermediaries from our factories to your locker room, allows us to offer you the best value for money.
This is also the reason why we cannot practice a sales policy. Our prices and our contained margins do not allow it.
our prices
But above all we want to establish transparency as a supreme value by ensuring that you understand what you are paying for when you buy a luxury product. This seems fair and honest to us, vis-à-vis you, our customers, but also to our suppliers.
These multiple commitments shape a system of values which for us is both a standard to be respected and an objective to be achieved, day after day. This is how we believe that balance, responsibility, humility are very sustainable behaviors.
PILLAR IV - compensate
We are aware that we participate at our own level in the problem, manufacturing goods that we do not necessarily need. This is why the slightest impact must be positively compensated by collaborating with militant associations and/or by donating a percentage of our profits to associations working to safeguard the environment.
We plan to work for this with the organization 1% for the planet to which we donate 1% of our turnover.
PILLAR V - people at the center
There is no environmental well-being without human well-being. The collective and the sense of sharing are at the heart of our concerns and are reflected in the very essence of the Nomasei project. We do nothing alone and everyone's work is valued because it is essential for the success of this project.
Our work must contribute to preserving territories, communities and know-how. Entire regions depend on the manufacture of luxury shoes, such as Tuscany in Italy. We undertake not to relocate our developments and our production so as not to impoverish and empty these regions of their work.
Nomasei, in Italian verlan, means “Six Hands”. This name evokes the collective work and the consideration of each human being who participates in the realization of a pair of shoes.
It means that each creation is the result of the collaboration between several hands and several skills, united around an idea that becomes creation.
The founders
We met in 2016 when we both worked at Chloé. Our first day of work took place in a factory in Italy and we realized that we shared the same passion for the product and the work of the hand. This is what pushed us to want to reinvent our profession – being ourselves victims of the frenetic pace of collections – to restore meaning to it.
We share the same values and commitments in our personal lives, so it was natural to build Nomasei on these pillars.
our artisans
The fashion industry tends to starify an individual in the person of the artistic director; Nomasei's philosophy is constructed in complete opposition to this. On the contrary, we favor a sense of sharing and collective work, because it is from collaboration and exchange that the most beautiful ideas emanate.
The factory, which is our privileged partner, has around forty employees who are all proud of their profession and the know-how they preserve: Massimo, Francesco, Davide, Silvia, Laura, Andrea, Cinzia, Manola, Siliana, Monica, Lucia , Alessandro, Omar, Rosaria, Simone, Ivan, Sauro, Alessandro, Michele, Cornelia Iuliana, Simonetta, Monica, Francesco, Barbara, Lucia, Ornella, Alessandro, Massimo, Fiorella, Gina, Martina, Paola, Rita, Marco, Francesco, Francesca, Gessica, Luciano.
our external collaborators
Product expertise is guaranteed by the founding team as well as the factory, but for all other matters we are building an ecosystem of experts who enlighten us and allow us to make the best possible decisions. This bias involves listening to each stakeholder and offering an inclusive framework of free expression where everyone's creativity and vision finds its place. Because a happy and fulfilled team will invest more in the process of change that we want to introduce.