Founder Portraits: Christal Earle
November 14th, 2019
Brave Soles was founded in June of 2017 by Christal Earle. for-profit venture works out of the Dominican Republic and creates handcrafted shoes with upcycled tire soles and accessories out of reclaimed plane seat leather, deadstock materials and furniture leather. Christal’s vision for Brave Soles is to give her customers the opportunity to be empowered by their choices and to lead their own story around living sustainably, and create more equitable work conditions for stateless people in the Dominican Republic.
Tell us about how Brave Soles came to be. What were the problems you were uncovering in the Dominican Republic and how did that lead you to founding Brave Soles?
I have been a humanitarian worker for many years and worked with stateless people who work–and sometimes live in– landfills around the world. Since 2006 I have worked periodically in the Dominican Republic with a community of landfill workers in Puerto Plata province. They are illegal in the Dominican Republic and live by pulling recyclable items out of the garbage dumps in exchange for money. Their lives are defined by vulnerability and they have no access to any kind of economic advancement. In fact, many of them live on less than $2-$5 per day.
While I was working in the Dominican Republic I began the process to adopt my daughter, (external link) who is Dominican born and of Haitian descent, and whose mother had died suddenly. Shortly after that the earthquake of 2010 happened in Haiti and all of our papers were destroyed to prove our guardianship and process. I quickly found myself as the single mom who was sharing custody of a young child who couldn't leave the country and who had no legal papers. I had to resign from leading the charity I had founded and began to work between Toronto and the Dominican Republic, every two weeks, doing my best to create a life for my daughter and provide for us.
During this time, I was hosting teams of volunteers and activist groups who would come to the Dominican Republic to learn about the employment challenges of stateless people. I was always leading them to the garbage dumps where we would work alongside the people there, helping them increase their daily incomes. It was here that I discovered how many tires there were and this led me on the path towards thinking about how we could be upcycling all these tires into products that people would love and covet. I started Brave Soles with my last $250 and in June of 2017, that $250 turned into $130,000 worth of sales that first year.
Why did you apply to the Social Ventures Zone?
I am 100% entrepreneurial and I clearly have very little aversion to risk! I am also keenly aware that no one is an island and we need to find our ecosystem to grow and thrive. A friend of mine introduced me to the Social Ventures Zone team the summer that I started Brave Soles. The company had taken off so fast and I felt totally out of my depth and needed counsel, direction and a tribe to be part of. I have had to make some major adjustments in my thinking around profitability for Brave Soles. For so long, the social cause has been such a strong pull for me that I needed the business and structural wisdom I am now gaining from being part of the SVZ.
What is your favourite part about being a social entrepreneur?
I have always been a social change maker. As an entrepreneur, you don't necessarily see the world in terms of endless problems–you see possible solutions, and that is what keeps you hooked. I’ve always thrown myself into challenges that involved a level of risk and commitment, yet led to me creating change. This is why I do what I do.
"As an entrepreneur, you don't necessarily see the world in terms of endless problems–you see possible solutions, and that is what keeps you hooked."
What is your favourite part about being a social entrepreneur?
I have always been a social change maker. As an entrepreneur, you don't necessarily see the world in terms of endless problems–you see possible solutions, and that is what keeps you hooked. I’ve always thrown myself into challenges that involved a level of risk and commitment, yet led to me creating change. This is why I do what I do.
What are some of the challenges of being a social entrepreneur working in the sustainable fashion industry?
Fashion as an industry can be very polarizing. We all know how destructive the practices of fast fashion are. However we don't often think about how in order for that to change, there has to be a cosmic shift in the mentality of the people who hold the buying power. Sustainable fashion has seemed so exclusive and elite for so long that I don't even like to use the term "sustainable" anymore. I prefer to use the term, "Conscious fashion" as this is more of an invitation to people to think differently about the power of their choices – both the big and little ones. Slow fashion brands have the opportunity to educate our customers and audience on all the processes that need to be in place in order for their shoes and clothes to come to life. This is where we get to differentiate ourselves and help our customers be proud of the story behind what they own and wear.
How has Brave Soles grown since starting and what are some of the highlights you’ve experienced while running the company?
I’ve always wanted to build a location where people work with dignity and purpose, and in November of 2018 this became a reality for us when we opened our production facility in a small mountain village on the north coast of the Dominican Republic! It’s hard to explain the incredible satisfaction you feel when you realize that together as a team, you are part of creating beautiful products that are loved and valued. The fact that Brave Soles created equitable employment for people and a better future for the local and global community is something that we are all very proud of. We work with Green Story to keep track of our environmental impacts and it's exciting to see the numbers climb on our count of tires that we are rescuing out of landfills and ditches in the country.
What’s next for you and Brave Soles?
In the days ahead, for 2020, we are going to be focusing on doubling down on our business and sales processes. We now have retail partners in North America and parts of Europe and we have been working to continue to build that sales channel. We are seeking a more refined model for our work in the Dominican Republic which includes a foundation within our business that is focused on helping others gain access to identity papers and further their education opportunities. I have also been working towards BCorp certification and crafting a model that is going to be reproducible in other cultural contexts for production.