Toulouse. It repairs all shoes including sneakers
“A lot of people think their shoes can’t be repaired. When they bring them to me, I can really tell them what’s going on and sometimes it’s really worth doing,” says Laurent Ségouffin. For 14 years, he has managed the Cordonnerie Toulouse, located rue de Metz. This fervent defender of the circular economy campaigns to give shoes a long life. A fight that makes sense especially when you know that in France, 600 million pairs of shoes are thrown away each year. “In Toulouse, shoemaking has always worked well. Here, people have the culture of having their shoes repaired. At one time, Toulouse was the city where there were the most shoemakers. Today, many have stopped and have not been replaced, because our job is complicated. We are there from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. “, explains Laurent Segouffin.
Currently, with the purchasing power crisis, the Toulouse shoemaker is seeing that more and more people are calling on him. Laurent Segouffin has a very particular activity since he repairs everything including sneakers, trail shoes, running, mountain biking, climbing, hiking… “I replace the complete sole block even if my primary activity remains traditional shoemaking”, specifies he. For Laurent Segouffin, all shoes can be repaired. The interest? “It avoids repurchasing it. It allows me to evolve with the trends of my time which encourage the second hand”, he slips.
Next October, the Toulouse shoemaker will participate in Refashion’s national RRRR* campaign, which will consist of putting an end to waste by promoting the recycling and repair of shoes.
“By buying fewer new products, we reduce production and the impact on the environment”, adds Clément Fabries, shoemaker in Saint-Cyprien, for three years. The latter wishes to federate the shoemakers in association in the Pink City, in the months to come. “Any cobbler motivated to join us is welcome”, he specifies.
For Clément Fabries, we must also stop thinking that many shoes are disposable. “For them to last, you also have to take care of them and know how to choose them well,” he finds. On good terms…