Sustainable Style: Calleen Cordero

Every week we feature a sustainable brand on our blog. This week's featured brand is Callen Cordero.

Each pair of shoes from Calleen Cordero's line takes 36 pairs of hands to make – that's what it takes to make a shoe whose components, all of them, are handcrafted. Each shoe starts with a flat piece of sustainably forested alder wood, with the heel hollowed out to make the shoe lighter, and the arch support hand sanded to perfectly match the upper. 

The leather uppers come from a factory in Italy that uses vegetable dyes and all glues used in the production process are non-toxic. Everything is made in the brand's 12,000 square foot factory in North Hollywood except for some hand woven and beaded pieces made by sacred tribes to Mexico that are incorporated into the collection.

In keeping with her ethos of her local sourcing and manufacturing, the brand is only sold at her boutiques in West Hollywood and Studio City in California, her website and in independent boutiques. You'll be glad to know that not only does the brand make shoes for both women and men, bags, belts and cuffs are available -something for everyone.