The One Foundation are delighted to be working with Sargossa, an ethical luxury shoewear company, founded by Nanna Liv in 2014.

Ensuring that some of the world’s poorest communities have access to clean, safe water has many benefits aside from the obvious benefit that drinking clean water is better for health and reduces illness. One of the lesser known benefits is the positive impact on women.

Women in the communities we’ve helped used to have to walk up to 5 miles a day to collect dirty water from the nearest source. Therefore, our programmes empower women by giving them time – enabling more girls to attend school and more women to seek employment opportunities.

Sargossa, as a company aimed at providing comfortable stilettos for women, and committed to improving communities outside of its European manufacturing, felt that a partnership with The One Foundation was a natural fit. The partnership allows the brand to provide financial aid to help fund these water programmes.

20% of every sale of selected heels (Inspire in Black Suede, Chic in Navy Suede, Fairytale in Navy Suede) directly supports The One Foundation’s work. The collaboration aligns with Sargossa’s strive to create an international impact aiding and uplifting communities, reduce water waste and align with the 6th UN Sustainable Development Goal of Clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. At the same time, it allows The One Foundation to communicate how their projects are empowering women.

An audience with Nanna Liv.

We asked Nanna Liv a few questions about the partnership and why it was something she was so keen to engage with.

How would you describe the Sargossa brand ethos?

NANNA: To buy less but better. And to ensure that our customers buy better, we have to make the first step as a company, hence we are challenging the footwear industry to offer much better engineered footwear. Footwear that our feet actually love wearing, that we can survive in without having to compromise on the look or comfort. The way Sargossa approach this, besides my extensive research is starting this stiletto revolution while being extremely thoughtful about the impact on the environment. Therefore, we are only producing in factories where we have complete transparency and we’re investing a lot in coming up with better ways of minimising waste, especially water and access material. I find that when we take these steps of creating products that last longer and don’t cause any pain, our customers will not need as many stilettos but only The Shoe.

How do you believe that The One Foundation aligns with Sargossa?

NANNA: We both ultimately want to make this world a better place by helping and achieving a difference where and however we can. We are extremely proud of the work The One Foundation does, and believe that the need for clean water is such a human basic need that it simply can’t be disregarded. As a company and the team behind it, we can’t just close our eyes and keep producing without being part of a movement that strives to change the world for the better – imagine a future where we don’t act or care about our surroundings, even if it doesn’t directly impact our lives.

Some of our projects have helped women seek employment; what advice would you give other women looking to establish their own business?

NANNA: Follow your dreams and what you are truly passionate about, and focus on all the great things that will happen for you when you do so. Remember to ask for the pay that you and the work you do deserve! When you fall, get back up and adjust your plan but do not stop, there is nothing stronger than a woman on a mission!

How would you encourage your customers to support The One Foundation?

NANNA: We encourage our customers to support the One Foundation with a bespoke blue collection that openly discusses the topic of water poverty, its short and long-term effects and what we can do to help. And of course, we’re hoping to start a conversation about the movement with the thousands of women who support us, including bloggers who are passionate about ethical fashion.

If you are interested in finding out more about Sargossa, or purchasing some of their stilettos in aid of The One Foundation, please visit their website at https://sargossa.com