We have been making children's shoes since 2003! It all started at a Christmas market in Berlin-Zehlendorf. With little crawling shoes. In the meantime our collection has grown a lot! From barefoot shoes, kindergarten shoes, winter shoes, sandals to an ever-growing vegan collection.
POLOLO production and sales
POLOLO production has been with our cooperation partner in Spain for over 10 years now and since 2023 we have also been working with a cooperation partner in Portugal who shares our values and ecological ideas.
Since 2021 - and again inspired by the children, who are now around 20 and either completely avoid meat or reduce it significantly - Franziska has also continued to expand the vegan children's shoe collection. Here too, ecologically valuable alternatives are very important. So we included cactus leather as a leather alternative and are very happy with it. In 2020, cactus leather was the Green Product Award winner and we thought the idea of making a leather alternative from cactus leaves was great.
Another great initiative that we are happy to support is the SEAQUAL ® YARN initiative from Spain.
Committed to sustainability
Our POLOLOs are shipped via our logistics partner WKS; each shoe is shipped for you with great attention to detail. WKS is GOTS certified, so like us, it follows the highest ecological criteria in the clothing industry. The GOTS is the Global Organic Textile Standard and the world's leading quality mark for organic textiles and clothing.
When using and processing our materials, we always pay attention to the best qualities in an ecological and sustainable sense. We only use vegetable tanned leather. No chrome leather. Our leather is uncoated and therefore wonderfully soft and breathable. Every skin is different and since we do not use any coatings, every shoe is unique. The transport routes for our hides and leather are short (within Germany!), so pesticides can be avoided during transport. That is very important to us. On the one hand, because short transport routes have a much better CO2 balance, but also because long transport routes of leather, shoes and clothing on ships from overseas also require the use of a lot of pesticides in order to avoid mold infestation, for example. These usually remain in the shoe or clothing. Is not available here!
Franziska is therefore very committed to volunteer work and actively shapes the global ecological and social standards for clothing on the board of the International Association for Natural Textiles (IVN) with - she has also been its CEO since 2018.
Healthy feet
There are basically two criteria that should be taken into account when buying shoes: The fit and the material!
Children's feet are little miracles: They are wonderfully soft because the foot bones are still developing slowly - the bones only really harden when they are around 18 years old. And children's feet are much more flexible than their parents' feet. But this also means that the slightest pressure - caused, for example, by shoes that don't fit or materials that are too hard or too little room for movement - can be unfavorable for foot development.
POLOLO works in constant exchange Children's foot experts and physiotherapists such as Dr. Wieland Kinz, the inventor of the 12+ measuring device and absolute children's shoe expert, is involved in the further development of the collection. In addition, we consistently ensure that only sustainable materials, i.e. soft, natural, certified, ecological materials are used: Vegetable-tanned, uncoated natural leather, cotton (organic quality / kbA) and wool (organic quality / kbT) are ideal for a healthy foot climate, keep warm and protect. Only uncoated, soft natural materials adapt to the foot and not the other way round the foot to the shoe.
If leather then only vegetable tanned natural leather
If you are looking for only the best for people, the environment and health, you should use ecological raw materials that have been known for thousands of years when producing children's shoes: tanning leather based on vegetable raw materials such as bark, wood, pods, leaves or roots has been used for many years The tried and tested method for generations. Around 300 different plant species worldwide are used to produce tannins. POLOLO uses mainly Natural leather, which was tanned with Valonea - a species of oak that grows wild in Mediterranean countries. Such leather is characterized by strength and toughness as well as being allergy-friendly.
For many consumers it is becoming increasingly important to buy fair and ecological clothing. They no longer care where their products for everyday life come from and what they wear on their skin. Unfortunately, especially in leather processing, heavy metals (chromium is the most common) are often used as tanning agents, which can also be harmful to health and the environment.
That's why POLOLO only uses vegetable-tanned leather. We set the highest ecological and quality standards for our raw materials. The transparency and traceability of the supply chain is also important to us.
POLOLO barefoot shoes
Children's feet are constantly in "action" - their entire muscles are always in motion, and that's how it should be, because they use it to train their body awareness in order to grow up healthily. By the way, the little ones should run around barefoot as much as possible - and if the surface and weather don't allow that, then wear POLOLOs, which warm and protect their little feet like a "second skin".
POLOLO's barefoot shoe collection was designed for outdoor use and the special requirements of kindergarten with a TPR sole and as pure slippers with a leather sole. The area on the big toe is cut straight and therefore offers plenty of space for the toes.
- Important: when it comes to flexibility, we make sure that the soles are free of plasticizers
- Sizes 20-34
- TPR sole for outdoors and kindergarten
- Wide toe room - the barefoot shoes have a wide toe box, not a round one!
- Developed with children's foot experts
Vegan shoes made of organic cotton (kbA)
Cotton is a wonderful material, especially when produced ecologically: it has a refreshing effect, is particularly skin-friendly and does not scratch. POLOLO likes to use cotton (organic quality / organic) as an alternative to leather for summer sneakers. Cotton is also particularly elastic and light on the foot. Like leather, it is very breathable and also has good absorbency - so they are Cotton shoes Ideal for children's feet, especially in the summer months.
POLOLO attaches great importance to the fact that the cotton comes from controlled organic cultivation. Monocultures are not used and synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are deliberately avoided - alternatively, plant-based products and humus are used. In organic farming, around 30 percent of the crop is rain-fed in order to avoid additional irrigation (the undamaged soil stores much more water).
- 100% cotton (organic quality / organic).
- Ban on genetic engineering.
- No synthetic pesticides.
- Optimized water consumption.
- High social standards / fair wages.
- Preservation of ecological balance.
- Health-friendly colors.
- Washable at 30°C on a wool cycle.
Vegan textile shoes made from upcycled sea plastic (SEAQUAL ® YARN)
Your steps for a clean ocean!
The SEAQUAL INITIATIVE POLOLO has become a colorful one Children's shoe collection made from upcycled sea plastic inspired.
Unfortunately, millions of tons of waste still end up in our oceans every year, even though we all know that this poses a great danger to our environment!
Through the SEAQUAL INITIATIVE, plastic waste is collected from the seabed off the Spanish coast by around 400 partner fishermen and then processed into SEAQUAL® YARN. Every kilogram of SEAQUAL® YARN produced corresponds to one kilogram of waste. This means the sea is cleaned and at the same time a valuable raw material is recycled.
The goal is a clean sea
The SEAQUAL INITIATIVE focuses on plastic waste from the seabed. Their partner network starts with fishing boats and extends to spinning mills, weaving mills and brands (including POLOLO) that are committed to the goal of ridding the sea of waste and producing ecologically compatible, high-quality yarns, fibers and fabrics.
The SEAQUAL ® YARN:
POLOLO otherwise does not use polyester, but the upcycling system and the quality of the fabrics are convincing: SEAQUAL® YARN has the same properties as fibers made from conventional polyester, but is far superior from an ecological point of view. It actively contributes to cleaning the oceans, reduces water and energy consumption and reduces CO2 emissions. Material traceability and certificates also assure the end consumer that choosing a product made from SEAQUAL ® YARN will sustainably support the end of plastic pollution.
POLOLOs made from SEAQUAL ® YARN: Your steps for a clean ocean!
- “The SEAQUAL INITIATIVE is a unique cooperative community with the task of combating ocean pollution caused by plastic waste.”
- POLOLO supports this initiative because it cooperates with ocean cleanup programs
- “The SEAQUAL INITIATIVE works with non-governmental organizations, fishermen, communities, authorities, industries and brands to help clean our oceans of plastic waste.”
- ation worldwide to refine the removed plastic waste into valuable raw materials.
- Outer material: SEAQUAL ® YARN.
- Lining: 100% cotton (organic quality / organic).
- The slipper collection is washable at 30°C on a wool cycle.
Vegan sneakers made from a cactus leather alternative
POLOLO is always looking for new ecological, modern solutions and materials for the production of beautiful and contemporary children's shoes.
- The raw material for these shoes is a cactus leather alternative.
- It is made from the leaves of the prickly pear cactus - which is not cleared, but only renewable leaves are used for production.
- Cultivation is controlled organically (kbA).
- There is no extra irrigation and no use of pesticides.
- It contains no animal ingredients.
- No energy is used to dry the leaves - because the leaves dry in the sun.
Since the cactus material is quite robust, POLOLO has opted for a soft inner lining made of microfiber.
