Collective Canvas

Values

Our Story

Collective Canvas founder, Oscar Anselmi, has a long background in footwear. His family history in the industry spans back four decades – so in a sense, he’s grown up surrounded by shoes his entire life. 

Throughout his 20s, Oscar worked in and around the industry in various roles. Over time he grew frustrated with certain elements of the modern footwear industry, namely its extremely fast-paced, trend-driven nature. 

Having spent a considerable amount of time working and travelling around Asia, he’d seen first-hand the impact that western consumption is having on the countries that are tasked with creating the products we consume every day. 

“I started Collective Canvas with a desire to create slow, simple, & transparent products - a clear alternative to the status quo.”

Canvas Collective sneakers are made simply with natural materials and great attention to detail. Oscar and his team work tirelessly to ensure that their suppliers and manufacturers use eco-friendly materials and take good care of their workers.  

Their manufacturer is based in the city of Dongguan, Southern China -- one of the global capitals of shoemaking, attracting skilled craftsmen from as far afield as Italy, Spain, England, and Brazil. 

They work exclusively with a single factory for all our production -- Mei Chen De Industrial Co, which is owned and run by a New Zealand-based consortium and is run by a female Chinese national General Manager

There, both Western and Eastern values are reflected throughout the workplace culture. They pride themselves in their commitment to ethical manufacturing. 

All workers are paid a living wage (including health insurance and pension contributions), are provided daily meals, on-site accommodation, as well as the option of free English classes. 

“We have first-hand knowledge of the working conditions of our suppliers - manufacturer, textile supplier, dyeing supplier, rubber supplier, insole supplier and packaging supplier - having visited them all when developing our products.” 

Environmental concerns were what really drove the development of Collective Canvas in the first place, and they’ve endeavored to minimise the use of synthetic inputs into our sneakers, and are always looking to improve their production line to ensure that the naturally-derived inputs they use are responsibly sourced. 

The use of organic cotton over conventional cotton has significantly less external impact on the farmers and the land, as organic cotton is grown without the use of pesticides or insecticides, and prioritises healthy soil management over intensive output. 

Natural rubber is used in place of cheaper, synthetic rubber and their insoles are made with castor bean oil and tree bark cork that is harvested without damage to the trees.

Collective Canvas sells all of their b-stock or less-than-perfect pairs as 'Imperfects' and give 100% of the proceeds to the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.