Minimal leather waste has become a core focus at Nisolo.

The brand under its new CEO Taryn Laeben is looking at ways to salvage leather scraps from its shoe production process. That has led Laeben to engage with Nisolo’s design team to work those scraps into its shoe styles, as well as build out an accessories mix — a new sustainability pillar –from the leftover leather so they don’t end up in landfills.

Nisolo is both B Corp and Leather Working Group certified. The latter means the hides the brand uses come from the U.S., and then are moved to tanneries near the factories it produces with in Mexico and South America, according to Laeben. Because the company doesn’t product in Asia, its generally not impacted by the higher tariff backdrop that some of its competitors face.

“As we look to regions like Europe, we’re factoring in what the current [tariff rate] looks like,” Laeben.

Luckily for Nisolo, its CEO’s got the chops to embark on a brand refresh and build on its legacy with an eye towards how grow it presence in the footwear and accessories market. On the accessories front, Laeben ran the international business and then North America. She was part of the team that took the Kate Spade brand from $90 million to $1 billion. On the operations side, she is the former chief commercial officer at mattress firm Casper and the former chief operating officer of SoulCycle.

Laeben also is the founding partner and president of IRL Ventures, an early-stage advisory and investment firm. Through its advisory arm, Laeben guided the connected fitness company Mirror to a $500 million exit via its acquisition to Lululemon. It was IRL that acquired Nisolo in February from its lenders, when the brand went into foreclosure. While IRL has taken minority stakes before, Nisolo represents the investment firm’s first acquisition for its fledgling brand umbrella.

Nisolo’s troubles and heavy debt load were typical of the direct-to-consumer market that found financing easy to get pre-COVID, but practically non-existent in the pandemic’s aftermath.

“What I’ve been interested in is finding the jewels in all of the rubble,” the CEO said, noting that Nisolo’s focus on creating product with an obligation to people and planet not only “aligns” with her personal values but also has become the “cornerstone of the brand’s resonance” with its customers.

“Sixty-eight percent of our customers say that they are willing to pay a premium for products that they know have been sourced and constructed sustainably,” Laeben said. “Style matters. Quality matters. Comfort matters. It can’t be sustainability at the cost of the other elements.”

So far, the brand has about 75 stock-keeping units. The CEO’s working on evolving the designs as the brand adds new products to its collection. That involves experimenting with new materials, as well as artisanal ways to treat the product and experimenting with color to appeal to a more fashion-engaged customer. The brand sells both women’s and men’s footwear, although the shoe offerings are primarily skewed towards the women’s market. Laeben is also analyzing data points connected with the demographics of younger consumers and how to reach out to those cohorts.

While she’s envisioned a small fleet of Nisolo stores, that dream is mostly something for down-the-road. Her first goal is evolving the digital experience, and the picking the right retail partner to grow the brand’s in-store presence. Price points currently are between $138 for huaraches and can go as high as $300 for the brand’s statement pieces.

Laeben is meeting with factory partners this week to discuss expansion of the accessories line. Currently, pieces from leather scraps are hand-woven by artisans to create the huaraches. In addition, the excess leather pieces are used in the production of small pouches that are set to launch in the fourth quarter. The CEO also is eyeing the possibility of jewelry options as one potential byproduct from the leather castoffs.