Environmental Impact
Every human activity has an environmental impact. And starting my business was always a big dilemma for many months due to this reality. But crafting became my passion; sharing my work with others. So my wish is to make my hobby the least environmentally demanding business as possible. Here is what I try to do:
I pay extra to receive clean energy at my workshop. This energy comes from local producers of clean energy via solar or wind. The company I use for this is called Vandebron in the Netherlands (Feel free to search it yourself). Their site: Vandebron - Duurzame energie van Nederlandse bodem - Vandebron
I only buy vegetable tanned leathers, no chrome leather. This leather is dyed using vegetable oils instead of chemicals.
I buy my leather from an Italian company which is transparent about their impact as well. Feel free to search them to learn more about what they do to minimize their impact (this includes: only securing leather that otherwise would have gone to waste from the food industry, and reusing leathers that were not perfect for high-end brands, without affecting quality). Read their sustainability section here: Sustainable Leather: The Ethical Leather | BuyLeatherOnline
When possible I reuse packaging; this explains why sometimes you might receive a far from perfect outer packaging. In addition, I do not pack my wallets with plastic or foam (except for the tape used).
I try to minimize the leather that goes to waste. With the small pieces I make keychains or smaller pouches, and even for prototyping new products. With the prototypes, I gift them to neighbors or friends for testing and feedback. It is better for my own finances to minimize waste.
Because the wallets are small, packaging is minimal and my hope is that no extra plane is sent to a destination just because of my wallets. This can be the reason why sometimes orders might take a bit longer to arrive to you, because the shipping company is waiting for more boxes before they ship the wallet.
I try to partner with as many local suppliers as possible, in the Netherlands or in Europe, before looking for further away partners. Sometimes this is impossible, but I do look for local first. This is good for the environment to avoid long shipping routes, but also for my financials: less import taxes (which are higher).
Why no Vegan Leather? It is truly a dilemma for me. Everyone who writes about for or against it online are very passionate and not very objective. But I know that many vegan leathers are not as long lasting as the full grain, real leather I use are, and many are made from plastic/synthetic materials which are not good either. The leather I use would go to waste if not used because it is the “waste” from the food industry (I personally do not even eat beef). And it is extremely durable, and it is biodegradable. Vegan leather in the contrary, not sure if it is as long lasting or the panacea of the environmental issues we have. First, it is expensive and hard to access. Secondly, not sure if all of them are bio degradable, or even long lasting. Thirdly, I found that the cost is even higher in many cases. However, I am always open to new ideas and materials. If you as a customer find an incredible product that is better for the environment and that I can access in Europe, please share with me. I would love to try it. I am not against vegan leather. In the contrary, I wish it was even better than real leather.
I offer warranty for life. If your wallet breaks because the stitches became undone with many years, or the snap button broke with years of use, please resend it to me for a free repair. I want customers to love their wallets, to use them, to gift them, to pass them down to family members with the years. I would consider my job as a failure if my wallets end up in the trash as waste. Making a beautiful long lasting product is important for this. I put love and effort on each handmade item, because I want my customers to love and value their items. This level of appreciation is what I call slow fashion, a long lasting relationship between user and the product.
My wish is to be transparent with you. I am trying my best in every area that is possible. I do care about this topic, and I am open to continue to look at ways in which Patepluma Co can become even cleaner.
ETHICS
Patepluma Co & Taxes
Patepluma Co is a registered company at the Dutch Chamber of commerce. You can go to Search | Chamber of Commerce (kvk.nl) and search Patepluma Co there. The Company Commerce Number is 89939328. For every order I sell, I pay 21% in taxes in the Netherlands. I pay taxes with much will. Hoping that this 21% of revenue will go to others in need, or for the government to provide the basic needs of our Dutch/European society.
Patepluma Co & Customers
With every customer, I try to help them find the product that they love. Communication is important to me. I know that as the company grows, this level of interaction will be tough to maintain, but I will always do my best. Besides this, I love that people leave feeling that they were cared for, heard, understood, and that they don’t feel cheated or misled. In my videos or my chats with customers, I am transparent, providing the good and the bad of each product. I recommend what product might be better for their use, even if this means that I sell to them a cheaper wallet leaving less revenue for myself. And if the customer hates his wallet for some reason, or changes mind about wanting it, no problem, please return it and I will give you back your money (minus the shipping of course). And hopefully I can sell that wallet again to another person who would love it.
Patepluma Co & The Environment
Well, as I said in the “environmental impact” section, this is important to me. It is always in my mind and sometimes I even feel guilty about it. I understand that whether I want it or not, Patepluma making and shipping wallets have an environmental impact, and that the material used came from an animal. This is a hard pill to swallow, but what I can do is to make sure to minimize that impact. In the section above I went in depth about the environment but not much was said about my appreciation towards the material: I have a dog, and I absolutely love him. And see him into his eyes and I feel the appreciation he also has for me. And when I work with the leather, sometimes I think about the life that the cow also had. I hope it was a good one. Growing up with my grandma in rural Honduras, I learned to care about animals and plants; but I also learned that it is part of nature that a being kills another for food, shelter, needs overall. And when making a wallet, I appreciate that material so much. And my only hope is that I save that beautiful skin from going to waste and that someone will treasure it for many years to come just as much. If vegan leather becomes just as good or even better than leather, with bio degradable materials, I would definitely learn to work with it, and treasure it just as much, because plants are also beings. As you can notice, it is an ethical dilemma.
Me & Ethics
I grew up in rural Honduras with grandparents while my parents worked in the city. I grew up with little, but I was a happy kid. My family was humble, but very respectful and genuinely beautiful human beings appreciated by the whole community. When my grandmother passed I told her: “grandma, I went to the best schools in the world, but you taught me the best: how to be a better human.” One of her best advice to me was: “Son, your goal in life should always be that when you are heading to the graveyard, you leave nobody behind hating you. Some people will not like you, but don’t make it easy for them to hate you.” And I try to be this, even though far from perfect. As for Ethics, I am an instructor at the Hanze University in Groningen, the Netherlands (feel free to search me online). And my favorite topics to teach a their business administration department is Business Ethics and Intercultural Communications. My hope is to teach others to care about the environment (flora and fauna) and people before the profit. And with Patepluma Co, I am trying to walk that talk.
Pricing
As I am trying to be transparent with prior topics (the environment & ethics), I will also try to explain here my products’ pricing:
Item Cost + Taxes: It is difficult to compete in pricing with wallet makers from outside the EU. In the Netherlands, I must pay 21% tax on every item I sell. What dictates the cost of a wallet? How many pockets and features it has, because this means that more thread, glue, and leather would be used. In addition time of making one can add to the price. For example: a coin pouch is faster to make (about 30mins) than an large wallet (1.5 hours). Everything is made by hand, so it is a process that takes time. To make some profit, I must charge high, otherwise, I cannot break even.
Shipping: shipping price is sometimes view as a bit higher. The reason is this: it doesn’t only pay for the shipping cost, but it helps me cover the cost of the ink when printing shipping labels, it helps cover the paper used, the time that it takes to prepare the package, the trip to the post office. And it helps cover some of the tax, at this point I cover most of the sell tax. This might change in the future, but as of now, this is the reason why the shipping can be seen as pricey.
Competition: I am a teacher at the University and receive income from that job. Leather work is my side passion, and I don’t want to lose money while doing it. I am fully aware that colleagues in other countries with lower cost of living and lower taxes make amazing wallets at a little lower prices. I am jealous of this, and frankly, it is hard to compete in pricing. But I hope after reading this, at the very least, you understand where your money is going. You get a beautiful wallet, and you help me continue with my passion while getting a bit profit and helping me cover the costs of maintaining the Patepluma doors open.
Thank you for being here. For your appreciation & support.
Ps. If You have any questions about what has been said here, please contact me: @patepluma.co (Instagram) or pateplumaco@gmail.com