When Roberto Garcia landed in Toulouse from his native Mexico, he dreamed of continuing his studies as an aeronautical engineer. The first confinement cut off his wings. Never mind. He stayed, his wife is French, but he found refuge in his roots. And as the 29-year-old comes from a family of industrialists from León Guanajuato, the Mexican capital of footwear and leather, he followed in those of his relatives by imagining, with two friends, Camilo and Franco, a new brand of sneakers.
But not just any pair of sneakers: “Ecoresponsible sneakers”, says one who is well placed to know the environmental damage of the leather industry. The shoes Ohtli – “path” in Aztec term – will therefore be certified vegan. A first model, called “Wave”, is made from plastic threads from bottles recovered by a Spanish association in the sea. The second, “Agave”, smells of Mexico since its vegetable leather is made from “leaves of cacti crushed to make a paste then dried in the sun ”. The deposit is almost inexhaustible. “With 300 or 400 types of cacti, there is no shortage of them in Mexico. In addition, we only pick the ripe leaves, the plant is not destroyed ”, explains Roberto Garcia.
Recycled pairs at the end of their life
Thanks to Mexican connections, the prototypes of Ohtli sneakers, very classic and trendy, were created in a few months. With their logo of the snake god Quetzalcoatl, the three friends refined their marketing and put the shoes on presale on the platform of crowdfunding Ulule. The price is not insignificant: from 85 euros for the launch campaign, 109 euros after. “It is within the standards of vegan products that already exist”, assures the young boss of Ohtli.
The brand is French, even from Toulouse, but the shoes will be handcrafted in Mexico. A long road for which the three partners have found the parade: “We calculated our carbon footprint taking into account the delivery and we pay compensation in France”, assures Roberto Garcia. Othli also has the originality of proposing to recover shoes at the end of their life and to recycle them herself. As late as possible anyway.