A vegan lifestyle means not eating or using any animal products – including clothing and footwear.
Alexander Shapiro, Tessy Michan and Whitney Kimmel, graduate students completing their Masters in Business Administration at the University of Miami, developed a line of vegan footwear called Kolyr. Their Kickstarter.com campaign has raised $5,368 of a $10,000 goal as of Sunday afternoon. The fundraiser will end Nov. 23.
The team plans to launch the shoes in March, and $2 of every purchase will be given to UM’s Entrepreneurship Club, Michan said. Each Kickstarter donation will go towards funding the first shipment of shoes.
Kolyr (pronounced co-leer) is the Yiddish word for “color.” The team wanted to emphasize the idea of self-expression through color and style, according to the Kickstarter site. The shoes have university-inspired color combinations.
The team hopes to reach out to the sports-fan culture at UM and the greater Miami community. Kolyr presents a unique product made for fans and by fans.
“You can’t help but fall in love with the school, so we decided to create a line of fashionable shoes that showed our school spirit and would unite fans,” Kimmel said.
Kolyr shoes are 100 percent vegan and made from cruelty-free materials. The shoes are entirely composed of synthetic material from sole to insert. The unisex shoes are extremely lightweight and durable compared to contemporary leather or fabric-based shoes.
The Kolyr team also plans to expand their line to include most major universities and eventually other clubs and organizations of special interest.
They will be recruiting brand ambassadors to serve as campus and team representatives, who will promote team spirit, engage fans and sell shoes at campus events and sports.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kolyr shoeline is 100 percent vegan and made from synthetic materials.
The shoeline will be available in March. Two dollars of every purchase will be given to UM’s Entrepreneurship Club.
For more information visit kolyr.com.