Each year, our small Canadian team reviews more and more ways we can contribute to creating a world where it’s easy to make choices that support social impact, climate change, and care for the health of our planet. We curate and design our collections for you and our earth, collectively, as it's the way we navigate on the road less traveled.
From season-less, and truly timeless apparel pieces to everyday life essentials, Poko products are created with certified eco-friendly materials, ensuring fair wage and work conditions. It is in the forefront of every season where we are curating our collections.
$4,195 raised for the Piñan Scholarship Fund
As part of our long-term giveback initiative to bring sustainable education opportunities to youth in Piñán, every purchase from the Ecuador collection gives 5% to the scholarship fund. In 2024, we raised $4,195 in proceeds donated!
Piñán remains one of the last communities in Ecuador still affected by colonial plantations which has impacted the villagers' ability to learn, develop & evolve. We’re proud to support the ongoing work of the Community Ascent Project since 2020.
Read more about this initiative >
132 Blankets & 109 Hats Donated to Cornerstone
In 2024, we donated 132 blankets & 108 winter hats. Did you know that each year, over 1000 women become homeless in our hometown, Ottawa, Canada? Every December, Pokoloko partners with Cornerstone for a buy one, give one campaign where every order of a Poko Blanket or Hat donates one to a resident of Cornerstone. Cornerstone now provides shelter for 150 women across five housing communities in Ottawa! Discover more ways to donate a get involved at cornerstonewomen.ca
See our Reel on Instagram documenting our donation drop off >
$400+ Donated to the Have A Heart Foundation
Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation event that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the opportunity to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are. In 2024, we’ve raised together over $400 in donation proceeds to the Have A Heart Foundation.
Shop Have A Heart Collection >
1,233 Hand Embroidered Ornaments Sold
Your purchase supports women artisans in vulnerable situations within depressed communities - meaning rural and urban communities that are relatively depressed, in terms of age of housing, extent of poverty, growth of per capita income, extent of unemployment, job lag, or surplus labor. These ornaments offer a sustainable source of income for the women artisans who make them. They can also be used in different ways outside of Holiday, for example, placed on the neck of a bottle of bubbly for your BFF, or hung from plants, bottle vases.
Poko Environmental Impacts
With each Poko purchase 2 trees are planted in the Poko Forest. In the past 4 years of our partnership with Ecologi, the Poko community has planted 53,695 trees, and 656.25 tCO2e avoided, saving greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide & methane.
While the biggest impact we can make as a business is to reduce our own emissions, carbon avoidance projects all provide complementary climate solutions to prevent greenhouse gas emissions, restore nature, and support local communities.
Other projects Pokoloko purchases support via Ecologi:
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Peatland restoration and conservation in Indonesia
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Repairing water boreholes in Eritrea
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Protection of the Matavén forest in eastern Colombia
See more at ecologi.com/pokolokoltd >
Eco-Conscious, Garment Dyed Crinkle Apparel Collection
In comparison to dyed fabrics, garment dyeing is both a functional, sustainable (and stunning) technique performed by makers who prioritize quality and their eco-footprint. Considered to be a more extensive and involved technique - which does impact the cost of the fabric - it is also chosen by the makers of Poko’s Crinkle Apparel Collection because it is a more eco-conscious choice in comparison to traditional yarn dyeing.
A few sustainable facts about garment dyeing:
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It requires 3-4 finishing processes to complete versus 6-7 finishing processes for 'standard' yarn/fabric dying.
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7 Litres less water is used per 1 kg of product (aka 20 times less water)!
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Our garment dyeing partner is part of the INDITEX group, and is committed to ensuring their dyes, enzymes and silicones meet their high environmental quality standards.
Eco-Friendly Gifts with Compostable Wrapping
Pokoloko's gift wrapping materials are sourced from Montréal-based company, Compostable.ca by Compost Montréal, a social enterprise that focuses on greenhouse gas reduction and the improvement of agricultural soils through the creation of compost.
Using Compostable products for packaging and shipping reduces environmental impact!
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