From now on, customers of the Munich sneaker label Monaco Ducks can exactly follow every single step and raw material of the Ducks sneakers through the partnership with retraced.
You can find out what makes this partnership special and what values it is based on in a conversation between Monaco Ducks founder Carl Warkentin and Lukas, one of the founders of retraced.
Carl von Monaco Ducks: How do you describe retraced and what you do?
Luke from retraced: retraced is all about sustainability management and transparency. For us, this means collecting as much data as possible from the supply chain in the first step, managing this data in the second step and getting an overview of where you actually want to go and where you are at the moment, and in the third step this data and knowledge passed on – either to us, the consumers and customers, or also to the business partner, who may be able to carry out further analyzes with this information.
Carl von Monaco Ducks: And do you have an industry focus?
Luke from retraced: With retraced we have a very clear focus on the fashion and textile industry. The reason for this is that with retraced we want to build a platform that can really solve the problems of the industry. The more holistic you try to build a platform, the less automated it can be. In addition, retraced is about creating a network, i.e. suppliers and brands should communicate with each other on an equal footing and the larger or the clearer the focus is, the faster you can build this network and get the relevant companies on the platform.
Lukas from retraced: And what about you? How did the idea for Monaco Ducks come about and what is your mission?
Carl von Monaco Ducks: The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world and the sneaker is the dirtiest product in the fashion industry, but at the same time the biggest lifestyle product of our generation. So if we manage to improve the sneaker, we create the greatest possible impact to enable sustainable management. Monaco Ducks stands for the most sustainable sneaker in the world, for high wearing comfort and a cool lifestyle product. We are currently not only working on making the sneaker as sustainable as possible, for example with selected upper materials or a biodegradable sole, but also on optimizing the entire after-life recycling process.
Carl von Monaco Ducks: And what does sustainability mean for you in return?
Luke from retraced: For us, sustainability means in the first step that it is not just about the environment, but above all about fairness. That means “sustainability” is a very holistic term for us and the most important thing is that you are never sustainable. Rather, sustainability is always a mindset for us. So it’s an iteration in which I try to use the resources that we have at our disposal better and better with the goal that future generations can continue to live as we can. And that means, of course, that we have to do a lot of rethinking.
Carl von Monaco Ducks: And what do you mean by transparency?
Luke from retraced: For us, transparency means getting a full understanding of what is happening in the supply chains. It’s not that easy, because in the first step you first have to understand which companies have contributed to the value creation of my products and in the second step what about these companies. And that is exactly what has to happen in order to really understand what is happening in the supply chains and, of course, to make better management decisions in order to then make more sustainable decisions in the second step.
Lukas from retraced: Speaking of transparency. What do you pay attention to when producing your products?
Carl von Monaco Ducks: In the production of our shoes, we actually pay attention to everything – not only that the work is done properly, but also to the sub-suppliers, for example where we get our shoelaces from and which materials we use: to get sustainable and good goods. We are also concerned with how it is produced and where it is produced. So as close as possible to home – in Europe. How is it produced? Under fair conditions, that the quality is right at the end of the day and everything in the overall concept is very sustainable. But we also go well beyond how sustainable the shoe is constructed, because we are also concerned with whether and how the shoe can be recycled afterwards.
Lukas from retraced: And why did you decide to work with us?
Carl von Monaco Ducks: We’ve been working together for quite a while. On the one hand, because this gives us the opportunity to collect all our suppliers in one place and to see in the system who has which certificates, where what comes from and what something is made of. And secondly, now also so that our customers have the opportunity to see where our products come from and how they are produced on our website: to enable maximum transparency.
Carl von Monaco Ducks: Do you have a favorite DUCKS?
Luke from retraced: I don’t know if you know it, but of course we are also shoe fanatics ourselves, because the retraced idea originally came from a brand that we founded, namely CANO in 2016. That’s why we naturally dealt intensively with your shoes . My favorite is the vegan sneaker in white and navy. The reason for this is that I read that you process leftover wine in this one. And because we also like to drink wine, of course, it was a very, very good fit.
Lukas from retraced: What do you wish for the future and what are your plans with retraced?
Carl von Monaco Ducks: Of course, what we want from the cooperation is that our customers appreciate that we are so open and honest when it comes to our products and the origin of our products and materials. But of course also that other brands jump on the train, that this offer is much more in demand. Because the more we at Monaco Ducks deal with the topic of sustainability and transparency in the supply chain, the more we realize how incredibly important this is for a sustainable approach to the environment.