The story of CORAIL° begins on a Marseille beach in the summer of 2018. That year, faced with the frightening observation of galloping marine pollution, Paul Guedj and Alexis Troccaz decide to invest in a marine depollution project based on on strong local roots. The seed is planted. It will germinate a few months later and give birth to CORAIL°.
CORAIL° is a brand of sneakers made from marine waste, collected at sea and on the beaches, in Marseille, by Marseille fishermen and partner associations. “From the start, it seemed obvious to us to surround ourselves with local players. Firstly because they know the terrain better than us and then because they are the first to suffer from the situation,” says Alexis Troccaz, co-founder of the brand. This is how CORAIL° establishes contacts with Marseille fishermen who will become the cornerstones of the marine depollution project. Anthony Herlemann, skipper at the head of the harvesting operation explains “that in 2019, we suffered record heat in our fishing area. The vegetation no longer grew and with it, the fish disappeared. CORAIL° allowed us to focus on a new project and to benefit from additional income during a delicate period. We have continued harvesting since then. ". With local roots, the brand wants to have a social impact and remunerate each month the partner fishermen who are on the front line in cleaning up the coast. To meet the increase in volumes and the growing need for raw materials, fishermen are joined from 2020 by several associations working to preserve the Marseille coastline and which are becoming an essential source of marine litter through harvesting on the beaches and clean walks organized by volunteers. Once collected, the marine litter is crushed in the CORAIL° Lab, the brand's engine room, directly on the port to guarantee an ultra-short circuit harvesting and crushing process.
Why did you choose to internalize the recycling process, from harvesting to grinding? To avoid the pitfalls of green-washing and big vague speeches. As recycling becomes a norm (which is an extraordinary development), we see the birth of unclear channels, a "recycled" stamp distributed too liberally, or even more worrying aberrations, such as bottle factories intended to be recycled (!) to take advantage of the added value offered by the "eco-responsible" label. In this sometimes opaque landscape, CORAIL° wanted to offer a didactic, transparent and traceable approach: sneakers made with marine waste, collected at sea by Marseille fishermen, who have a face, a name, and recognized and legitimate local associations. . This waste is then crushed thirty meters from the landing stage, in second-hand machines. The salvation of recycling will go through pedagogy and transparency.
How does the future look for CORAIL°? “The same thing, only bigger. says Paul Guedj, co-founder of the brand. “More waste, both in volume but also other types of waste. We have moved from transparent plastic bottles to opaque bottles, labels, caps and since 2022 we can now grind fishing nets. An unchanged ambition with always the same horizon: to clean the sea.
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