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PANAFRICA is an upbeat and committed fashion brand, inspired by Africa and produced on the African continent. An independent project since 2015, PANAFRICA is an adventure that we build day after day with our loyal customers, our partners who trust us and our talented teams.
All our collections are designed and produced between Paris, Casablanca, Abidjan, Accra and Bobo Dioulasso. Each item reflects the breathtaking scenery and warm smiles we encounter on our travels.
PANAFRICA, is a state of mind. Our ambition is to produce differently, respecting the people who bring our collections to life and caring about the social, economic and environmental impact of our actions. From purchasing raw materials to production, we strive to develop a sustainable and ethical project.
Our Partners
We create products that make sense.
Sense is transparency, it’s listening, it’s knowing the women and men with whom we work hand in hand, it’s the pride of developing a sustainable project with a positive impact, it’s questioning our habits in order to move towards ever more committed and ethical fashion.
To create our collections we work hand in hand with our talented partners who, over time, have become true companions along the way. They are at the heart of our project and, without them, nothing would be possible.
- Uniwax
- L'atelier d'Esther
- Xoomba
- The workshop of Hicham and his father
- Transparency
- Our next challenges
Ivoiry Coast Ivoiry Coast Ivoiry Coast Ivoiry Coast Ivoiry Coast
Uniwax
Since it was founded in 1968, Uniwax has been the West African leader in wax printing. Its products, sold under the Uniwax and Woodin brands, are exported to more than ten countries in West and Central Africa. Uniwax uses different processes to produce its product range. The fabrics are coated in wax and then dyed using a specific process that guarantees a very high colour fastness. From the engraving of copper cylinders to dye baths, more than 20 steps are required to produce a print!
Uniwax has been the long-standing partner of Panafrica since 2015. Every season, we go to Abidjan to select the most beautiful prints for our collections. We are fortunate to work directly with Uniwax, which gives us great flexibility and the chance to customise the selected prints in order to provide unique collections.
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Useful info…
The wax market in Africa is today totally deregulated by the importation of Chinese wax, which is of lower quality and 2-3 times cheaper than wax fabric produced in Africa (Chinese wax costs on average 6,000 CFA francs. A wax printed in the Ivory Coast is sold for 18,000 CFA francs). Whether in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana or the Ivory Coast, many factories have closed down, unable to withstand this competition.
Our choice of working with Uniwax allows us to support local production of a high-quality authentic fabric.
Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghana
L'atelier d'Esther
We met Esther and her team in 2019 and fell under the spell of this great talented and energetic lady. It’s in her small workshop north of Accra (capital of Ghana) that Esther, her daughter and their 4 employees create original prints and continue a well-known craft in Ghana: artisanal Batik printing. Every season we develop new prints for our collections together with them.
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
Xoomba
We buy our organic cotton fabrics from Xoomba in Burkina Faso. Xoomba is an association which was founded in 2009 to create a complete production chain for organic cotton textiles (GOTS certified) in Burkina Faso. In Burkina Faso, rainfall allows for the cultivation of excellent cotton without watering, whereas cotton cultivation usually consumes large amounts of drinking water. Burkina Faso also benefits from having all the means to process cotton: ginning and spinning.
Xoomba uses environmentally friendly fibre reactive dyes on cotton without heavy metals and works with artisan weavers on mechanical looms that do not require electricity. Xoomba employs about 25 people (mainly women) who receive a higher salary than the average income in Burkina Faso. Xoomba also trains young designers to produce finished made in Burkina Faso products so that the maximum added value benefits the country’s economy.
Morocco Morocco Morocco Morocco Morocco
The workshop of Hicham and his father
The relationship between the Hicham workshop and Panafrica dates back to our beginning. When we first met in 2015, we immediately felt a pleasant atmosphere in this family workshop and a unique expertise guaranteeing high quality products. Hicham is very professional and helps us to develop our collections.
This workshop is certified by an external body and complies with the ILO (International Labour Organisation) rules. This guarantees a code of social responsibility and ensures that PANAFRICA sneakers are manufactured in an environment where workers’ rights are respected.
Each employee benefits from:
– An employment contract and a guaranteed minimum wage
– Paid holidays (3 weeks per year)
– Health insurance
– An increased salary for each additional hour worked (+20% and a maximum of 2 hours overtime per week)
-Regular training and quality management
We visit regularly to ensure that our productions are running smoothly and share the behind-the-scenes footage with you on Instagram.
Our workshop is regularly audited by independent external bodies.
Transparency
Transparency is at the heart of our project. We haven’t worked with an intermediary from the start, and we know the men and women behind every Panafrica product. This transparency is a daily requirement as we have a duty to tell you what we do, how and with whom.
Since 2016, we have been building a sustainable project and we have nothing to hide. At a time where ecology and ethics are on everyone’s lips, our duty is to give you the key to understand our project.
From cotton cultivation to our logistics warehouse, via our assembly workshops, PANAFRICA will not hold any secrets from you…
Cotton cultivation
Cotton cultivation
- National Union of Cotton Producers in Burkina Faso (UNPCB)
- Assembled in the form of cooperatives
- Organic cotton cultivation without watering, Ecocert certified
- Fairtrade label
Download the Ecocert (1) and FairTrade (2) labels
Cotton weaving and dyeing
Cotton weaving and dyeing
- Xoomba
- 20 employees in Bobo Dioulasso (mainly women)
- Mechanical looms that do not require electricity
- Low impact dyeing and wastewater treatment
Download the GOTS label
Sneaker assembly
Sneaker assembly
- The workshop of Hicham and his father (122 employees, including 30 women)
- 44 hours of work per week on average (national average: 49 hours/week)
- Excellent working conditions according to the last external audit report (minimum wage, number of hours worked, 100% of employees under contract)
Download the external WCA (Workplace Conditions Assessment) report
Wax production site
Wax production site
- Uniwax based in Yopougon
- West African leader in authentic wax printing
- Construction of a health and social centre in 2012
- Free healthcare for employees and their families
Cotton weaving
Cotton weaving
- Weaving in Charlieu
- Organic and recycled cotton fabric (95% certified organic fibres)
- Purchase of plain and recycled cotton for our printed fabrics
Download the GRS (link 1), GOTS (link 2) and OekoTex (link 3) labels
Logistics warehouse
Logistics warehouse
- Consolidating the entire Panafrica stock
- B2B and B2C shipments
Batik dyeing workshop
Batik dyeing workshop
- The workshop of Esther and her daughter (4 employees)
- Traditional wax printing (foam or wooden stamps)
- All steps are carried out manually
Leather tannery
Leather tannery
- Mastrotto
- Cattle hides for consumption
- Semi-vegetable tanned leather
- LWG Gold rated label indicating compliance with safety standards, reduction of substances hazardous to health and the environment, reduced water and energy consumption
Download the LWG label
Plastic fibre weaving
Plastic fibre weaving
- Carlom
- Fibre produced by Antex (Seaqual), OekoTex and GRS certified
- Ocean recovered plastic
Download OekoTex (link 1) and GRS (link 2) labels
Manufacturing of soles
Manufacturing of soles
- Company making our soles from recycled materials
- 70% recycled materials from production waste and our old soles crushed and recycled (Rebirth programme)
- 1er sole manufacturer in Portugal to obtain the GRS certificate
- PETA certified (Vegan)
Download sole composition certification & GRS Label
Our next challenges
PANAFRICA is a global project, a work in progress. Like any project, it’s a long-term project. Our ambition is to go ever further without being afraid to question our choices and our actions. There are still many challenges to be addressed, the main ones being:
Rebirth: a building block.
The circularity of the products we create is a complex subject and a huge challenge. Our dream is to create our new products from worn products that have reached the end of their life. We have created Rebirth to offer all our customers the option to return their used items and give them a second life (reconditioning where possible or recycling)
However, a pair of sneakers is made up of many materials with different properties (fabric, leather, lining, laces, eyelets etc.). Not all these elements can be crushed, recycled and repurposed in the same way. Restoring pairs of sneakers at the end of their life has therefore not yet been fully achieved and major investments are needed to aim for absolute circularity.
Limit leather use
We use leather in manufacturing some PANAFRICA styles. Despite the undeniable qualities of leather (durability, comfort), we are aware of the environmental impact and the ethical problems it poses. Nowadays we use semi-vegetable tanned leather (low chrome) and reduce its use, season after season. For example, in 2016, 80% of our collections contained animal leather. In 2020, it’s 40%. At the same time, we are looking into the use of more ecological or natural substitutes for leather without compromising the life span of our products.
Reduce transport
Our collections are shipped by truck from the production workshops to our logistics warehouse near Chambéry in France. The ecological impact is therefore much lower than by air. However, our current logistics process is complex. For example, the wax fabric purchased in West Africa is routinely sent to France for quality control and industrial processing before being shipped back to Morocco for our styles to be assembled. Our factory does not currently have the capacity to process this stage directly on site.
An end to packaging?
All our products are packed in recycled cardboard boxes, and, at the Panafrica workshop we sell our pairs of sneakers without boxes for customers who want that.
Until 2019, we limited packaging to the absolute minimum, but to protect our products throughout their logistical route we had to add a second packaging. This choice, for a customer experience which meets our standards, has a significant financial and ecological cost, but at the moment we have no other solution.
