Hello everyone,
When I, Franziska, was looking for suitable children's shoes for my first child (my son Wendelin) back in 2001, the results in the shoe shops were sobering for me personally. Since my son had allergies and was very sensitive to his skin, I was looking for children's shoes that were comfortable and foot-friendly, had a nice design, but were also produced fairly, environmentally friendly and chrome-free. Unfortunately I couldn't find it at the time.
Inspired by the fact that other parents are certainly looking for something like this and convinced that an attractive appearance, protection of the environment and resources as well as social fairness along the entire supply chain can be successfully combined, I set out to create my first ecological children's shoe collection made of vegetable-tanned leather in 2003 self-employed.
I started very small. I successfully sold my first shoes at a Christmas market in Berlin-Zehlendorf. I went to toddler groups, traveled through Germany with my son and met many people, both dealers and end customers, who shared my values.
The first trade fair I visited back then was the specialist dealer trade fair InNaTex in Frankfurt Wallau. At that time I was very excited to introduce my shoes to retailers. Today, after more than 20 years in the industry, I'm more of an old man, but it's still exciting and a lot of fun. Trying out new things, taking new paths economically, ecologically and constantly rethinking the entire chain is what inspires me in my work.
Meanwhile, the POLOLO team from logistics, shipping, production, sales has grown significantly and so has the collection, but the focus is still the same!
“Pololo” By the way, its name is Chilean "steady" – and that’s what POLOLOs should be for you: Best friends and companions for children and their little feet!
Kind regards
Franziska
