Wedded to a Good Conscience
NEWS
Sometimes you get an email that’s a real breath of fresh air in the daily work routine! When I received the email and the incredible photos that Ganja had sent to my workmate Kambiz, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Kambiz, who are these folks and why are they all wearing our shoes?!”,
was my first reaction.
Kambiz explained that Ganja had contacted him a while back requesting a “bulk purchase discount” to outfit all of their wedding guests with Ethletic sneakers. But that was all the info Kambiz had, so I got in touch with the newlyweds to find out more.
“We are David and Ganja Ailina, both 24 years old and a real ‘international’ couple. I’m from Switzerland and David’s from the Netherlands”, explained Ganja. “This summer we celebrated our wedding with a small group of friends and family in a Swiss village called Riein in the Grison Alps.”
Both David and Ganja wore sneakers “simply because they’re comfortable and they always go with any kind of clothes”. Already a year-and-a-half or so before the wedding they had already resolved not to buy any new clothes, shoes, etc., and if so, “then only if they’re fairly produced and whenever possible vegan and local”.
With the money they saved this way Ganja, a social work student and trained nurse, and David, a graphic designer and photographer, headed off for an unconventional honeymoon to Nepal where they stayed in a shared student residence and worked as volunteers for the NGO Hoste Hainse. Ganja tells us, “Right now we’re in Malaysia visiting a project for Rohingya women. After that they’ll move on to Vietnam (via “World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms”), Korea to visit family and Thailand for an SCI peace project”.
Check Instagram for some impressions of this lovely couple’s trip.
But how did it come about that all of the wedding guests wore Ethletic sneakers?
“For our wedding we wanted original, comfortable shoes that we could wear with a good conscience. When we shared this idea with our family, they were immediately on board, and our friends also joined in. Even our grandfather looked great in the shoes and he finds them very comfy!”
Ganja reports that “everyone’s mega happy with the shoes!”, and we’re obviously delighted to hear that! We want to say THANKS VERY MUCH for the praise and also for this couple’s amazing social commitment. We wish them nothing but the very best for their journey – both through the world and through their life together!
