Made in Croatia: World’s most ecological sneaker brand MIRET attracting investors with Funderbeam campaign 

(Photo credit: Katarina Zlatec)

Just over six years ago, brothers Domagoj and Hrvoje Boljar from the town of Duga Resa in Croatia started developing the most ecological sneakers in the world.

Made in Croatia, MIRET ecological sneakers are produced from a number of natural materials, including hemp, kenaf, cork, cotton, corn, jute, eucalyptus, natural rubber, tree cellulose and 100% New Zealand wool. The shoes are stocked at their warehouse in Duga Resa, and are sold exclusively through the MIRET webshop.

“We source our materials directly from suppliers in 9 EU countries. Since our supply chain is entirely in the EU we minimised the risks and pressures that many brands fight with having global supply chains, especially now during the pandemic. Our supply chain is locally which ensures its strength, minimises the CO2 footprint and ensures there are no risks or additional costs for us or the customers,” MIRET explain. 

(Photo credit: Katarina Zlatec)

Hrvoje, an industrial designer, and Domagoj, an economist, gained experience in the footwear industry through their father Josip, who spent his entire life working in the footwear industry and was behind the famous footwear brand Mr. Joseph.

They came up with the idea to produce the ecological sneakers made of natural materials after seeing first-hand the environmental damage caused by the material production industry. 

“As we had been developing sneakers for various European brands, we got a rare opportunity to get to know the dark side of the industry, which is not often talked about. We were part of the problem and we decided to direct the experience and knowledge so that we became part of the solution,” Domagoj tells us. 

(Photo credit: Katarina Zlatec)

Since launching on the market two years ago, MIRET environmentally sustainable sneakers have been a huge hit, winning a number of awards around the world. 

With an increasing demand, MIRET recently launched a crowdinvesting campaign on the Funderbeam platform to raise funds to expand production and growth.

“The decision for this type of financing came from the desire to involve the entire MIRET community, which will participate in the further growth and development of the company. For a symbolic amount of only 250 EUR, each individual has the opportunity to become a shareholder in MIRET. The leading investor in this project is the association of business angels from Austria, Danube Angels with whom we passed a rigorous selection in 3 stages and were chosen within a large competition, as they finance only 1% of the best projects with which they make the first contact. We are also very proud of the fact that the MIRET is the first project from Croatia that Danube Angels supports,” the company said, before adding. 

“We confirmed our product market fit, and with this funding we plan to multiply our growth. Most of the funds will be invested in financing further production and expansion towards new retail customers through advertising and B2B collaborations with other brands and companies. A small part of the funds will be invested in the development of new products and certification of existing and future products according to strict environmental standards in order to officially and scientifically back up the claims about the sustainability of MIRET products.”

(Photo credit: Katarina Zlatec)

MIRET says that the response to the crowdinvesting campaign has been ‘amazing’ with investors from all over the world, including from their homeland Croatia, getting involved.

“it is  amazing to see so many people recognising the benefits of early equity investing,” they said. 

In 2021, MIRET was intensively preparing for this year, and are currently working on the development of a completely new design of sneakers and types of footwear. 

(Photo credit: Katarina Zlatec)

“We have been committed to product development, team expansion, defining our impact, measuring our market potential and we are ready to increase production and sales next year. We have a lot of work to do to realise the goals we have set and promised to our investors, and customers can expect new models, new colours and new products,” MIRET concluded. 

MIRET team (Photo credit: MIRET) 

The crowdinvesting campaign lasts until December 21st, and everyone can get involved by joining Funderbeam platform and indicating their desired investment amount. The minimum entry is 250 EUR. You can find out more HERE.

(Photo credit: Katarina Zlatec)