If you love the look of leather but worry about using animal products or the sustainability of pleather, CACTO is about to become your new favorite brand. Their eco-friendly line of wallets and wristlets offers beautiful craftsmanship and sleek, stylish design at prices that won’t break the bank.
CACTO products are handmade in Mexico from cactus leather – the material comes from organic cacti nourished with rainwater, is certified cruelty-free by Peta, and is partly biodegradable. Any organic cactus material the brand doesn’t use are sold and repurposed in the food industry, making the manufacturing process waste-free. Their two product colors, green (“Verde”) and black (“Pantera”), remind customers of the brand’s natural ties and offer an effortless, chic simplicity.
Another standout quality of the brand is their dedication to being carbon-negative, making them the first company to do so in the Americas. They currently offset 150% of the carbon dioxide their business may produce by planting trees to make up for it, and they aim to offset 1000% of their carbon emissions by the end of this year. CACTO also works with EcoCart to offset any carbon emissions from shipping and manufacturing, as well as planting a tree in Madagascar for each person who signs up for their email list, in partnership with Tree-Nation.
Founder Jesus Chavez is passionate about the company’s environmental mission and the importance of taking action to reduce carbon output. He used to work on international policy in both New York and Washington, D.C., but he now focuses on activism, writing about sustainability, and building the CACTO brand.
“We all need to do more, climate neutrality is no longer enough,” Chavez says. “Industries across the board need to benefit from existing technology and offsetting programs to become carbon negative and invest in new research and innovation to reach that goal faster. The decisions we make this decade will determine the fate of humanity for centuries to come. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. It is up to us now.”
You can browse CACTO’s product line and learn more about their sustainability efforts on their official website! Be sure to sign up for their email list to stay updated and so they can plant more trees to combat deforestation.
