At Kolo, environmental responsibility is not a marketing angle. It’s a design principle.

We believe a good tool should only need to be bought once. That’s why every Kolo product is designed with durability, repairability, and longevity in mind—so it can be handed down, not thrown away. Whether it’s a rucksack stitched from organic waxed cotton, or a wallet made of vegetable-tanned leather, we choose raw materials that wear beautifully and age with character, not compromise.

Our approach is simple: Make fewer things. Make them better. Make them last.

Great design starts with great ingredients. For us, that means using organic waxed cotton from Scotland—sourced from farms that use no synthetic pesticides and far less water than conventional cotton. We also use vegetable-tanned leather, a time-honored process that’s more sustainable and less toxic than chrome tanning, allowing our goods to break in naturally over time, not break down. 

These materials cost more. They’re harder to source. But they matter. Because the things we carry every day should reflect the world we want to live in.

We're not perfect, and we don’t pretend to be. But we’ve built our supply chain to be traceable and responsible, and we keep raising our standards every season. We believe that how something is made—who made it, what it’s made from, how long it lasts—is the product.

We’re a small team, but we hope to lead by example. Because when small companies make thoughtful decisions, big companies take notice.

Kolo is proud to be a member of 1% for the Planet, pledging 1% of sales of our sunglasses, bags, leather goods, pens, and notebooks to organizations in Africa that save the wild animals and habitat. 

We design tools for people who make things. Our customers are artists, writers, designers, and thinkers—and we believe that together, we can make better choices for the planet.

After all, the most sustainable product is the one you never have to replace, like a Tino Fountain Pen.