In 2005, friends Jodi Koskella and Laurie Carroll set out to do the unthinkable:  Make a line of sustainable, vegan shoes that even non-vegans would love.  Along with a seasoned mentor, the two women managed to launch Charmone within a year.  I've featured their shoes before on my blog, but this month I actually had a chance to sit down with Jodi Koskella and ask her some questions about her amazing line.

Q:  What was your original inspiration for Charmone?

A:  I used to have a friend who was a vegetarian, but always wore leather.  She used to complain that she couldn't find shoes that were both vegan-friendly and cute.  Around that same time, I called Lauren and she was just miserable at her job.  She mentioned to me that she wished she could get into fashion, and I agreed.  Except that we didn't want to be part of a corporate environmenent.  We really wanted to be part of the design process.  When we sat down and analyzed the market, the only vegan shoes we found were either ugly or plastic.  We wrote a business plan, did research, and tried to cover all the bases.  At a key moment we had a chance meeting with a vegan Italian-speaking consultant who was experienced in shoemaking.  The rest is history.

Q:  One of the most impressive things about Charmone shoes is that they are really and truly  gorgeous, and there is a large range of styles.  Who designs the shoes and how frequently do you add new styles?

A:  Laurie and I design the shoes ourselves.  We live in different parts of the U.S. but we meet together a couple times a year.  Every six months we release new styles, and we've actually brought back some of our most popular styles based on customer demand.

When we were starting up, we knew that we would have to make shoes that would stand on their own.  Many of the retailers we went to didn't have any interest in buying "vegan" shoes, and we didn't even try to present them that way.  The design speaks for itself.

Q:  What kinds of materials go in to making your shoes?

A:  Our fall shoes tend to be made out of eco-friendly microfiber from Italy.  This is a high-tech PVC-free material that mimics leather.  The faux suede is literally impossible to tell from real suede--the only difference is that our faux suede is actually water resistent.

For spring shoes, we use a lot of organic cotton and hemp.  We found that these fabrics can be printed on digitally which means there's no need for fabric dyes which generate toxins.

Q:  Why don't more designers use eco-friendly and/or vegan materials?

A:  In the fashion industry, people are stuck in their ways.  Especially with regard to shoes.  We would go to shoemakers in Italy and tell them what we wanted and literally be kicked out of their shops.  Shoes have been made in a certain way with certain types of materials for thousands of years.  Laurie and I have come in to this process with no formal fashion background, so we didn't have any preconceived notions about how things should be done.  Just because no one has done something before doesn't mean it can't be done.

Another thing to consider is that the fashion industry still isn't taking the green movement as seriously as they could.  When we are contacted by fashion magazines or other press, it's usually because they are putting together a special 'green feature'.  Most mainstream companies are just not on board with sustainable fashion yet, either because the choices in materials are limited or more expensive than they are willing to work with.

Q:  Finding shoes that are both vegan and sustainable is a difficult task.  How do you ensure the sustainability of your shoes?

A:  We only produce our shoes in countries with strict labor laws such as Italy, Brazil and the U.S.  Brazil  actually has a lot of sustainable business programs and of course, Italy has amazing shoe artisans.  It's challenging to get fine work done in the U.S.  We just don't have skilled shoe makers here.  Some of the more casual shoes are made here in the U.S., and the high fashion shoes are made in other countries.

All the factories we work with are small, family-run enterprises.  They are as concerned about cost and waste and we are, if for no other reason but that it keeps their costs down.

Q:  Looking back over the past four years, what are you most proud of about Charmone?

First of all, I'm proud that we just managed to do it.  That we made the decision, took the leap, and saw it through.  When I first decided to start up the company I was in Paris with my dad, and I told him what I was planning.  A year later I came to him with a shoe in my hand and he was both shocked and proud.  The other thing I'm proud of is how well we've been received by the press. We've had a lot of great press and it feels great.

Q:  What's the future for Charmone?

We want to get more innovative with the materials we use and we'd like to use more hemp and bamboo.  We also want to stay at a luxury level product with a focus on our quality.  And we have some kids' shoes in the backs of our minds that we'd like to sell in the future.

Thanks to Jodi for her time!  For more information on Charmone shoes visit the website www.charmone.com.  Best of luck Jodi and Laurie!