Philippe Aguad, former French and European Karate champion, swapped the tatamios for the business world, influenced by the commercial heritage of his father. In 2020, he launched Caussün, a French brand of completely eco-conceived slippers, handcrafted in Portugal with natural materials such as the virgin wool of Ardèche, cork or felt. With Caussün, Philippe Aguad offers an ethical and ecological alternative in order to leave a positive imprint.
“The mind is not going to stop. I am always with a view to creation. I don’t know how to go on vacation to go on vacation. I always have to try to find a raw material or something that will allow me to develop something else. It’s not just for money, it’s for fun. Honestly, I take more pleasure in creating than earning money. I have the privilege of being able to develop stories, new stories, but with the help of people who will sell the product. I am rather in creation, ”says Philippe Aguad.
The Caussün co-founder develops: ” ” Caussün ” means ” Chausson ” in Provençal. It comes from there. We were doing a brainstorming with my daughter who works with me and who is co-founder of the brand. We have chosen ” caussün ” because it means ” slippers ” in Provençal. We are in Marseille and attached to our region. And then, the slipper is now part of our 100% activity on the company called organic alternative. »»
Philippe Aguad is a creator and an explorer. Far from having taken a classic path, he sailed between sport and trade, mixing his passion for karate and learning in the field. Champion of France and European Karate, his first professional experiences forced him to grow and understand that behind turnover hides a complex management world:
“” I developed a commercial activity, between 20 and 30 years old, in Marseille with jogging. At the time, it was not very common. I succeeded with jogging on all south-eastern France. The problem is that I didn’t know how to manage. I was doing turnover, but I didn’t know what the margin was or anything. I walked ! At one point, it caught up with me. At 29, I was faced with a compulsory liquidation problem, with everything that causes. Honestly, it made me aware of what to do or not, and it trained me a little in pain. It made me ripen. I was able to understand a lot of things, put things into perspective in terms of business, not to believe that it was easy and that it was necessary to do a little management. »»
From meetings in opportunities, it is finally on a beach in Corsica, strewn with plastic waste, that he has the click for a new adventure: the creation of organic slippers. A project which arises from an acute awareness and a desire to contribute to a better world : ” On the beach, there were about fifteen pairs of flip -flops which were there, next to it, plastic bottles. It was an idyllic beach in Corsica. It was a trigger with me. I started looking for something, a slipper, since it was my job. I put myself in the head to make a slipper that is organic, or with biopolymers. Thirteen years ago, it was completely revolutionary to think of inventing biopolymers with a plant origin. It was very complicated. I was the only one to do it. But I did not want to develop in China because I was already a goal, ten years ago, to develop in Europe. »»
Philippe Aguad embarks on the manufacture of slippers 100% of vegetable origin, with production in Portugal. Its Caussün brand, launched in 2020is aimed at hotel professionals, but also, from the Pandemic of COVID-19, to individuals:
“” I went on vacation in Ardèche, below Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc. There are sellers who also sold wool felt per meter, to put around your plants to protect them from the cold. I bought two meters to try history. I sent it to Portugal to make the same shape as hotel slippers, using this wool. It has Given something fabulous, to set foot inside. It’s hot, it doesn’t bite. It is the short wool fibers that are used, because you have short fibers that are burned, thrown or used to make felines, or long fibers, with which the sweaters are made. For wool, we work with a scop in Ardèche, which works on very old machines, it’s fabulous ! They use wool electricity to group the fibers. It’s quite fabulous. We made Caussün for the general public with these wool. We also use them for the hotel industry. We work with mountain chalets or hotels also in the mountains and we make them woolen slippers. It’s fabulous, customers put their feet in wool. It’s superb ! »»
Phillippe Aguad has the will to Transmit your knowledge to the new generationespecially to her daughter, Mélanie. Their collaboration is part of the continuity, the transmission of values and of shared creation, in order to leave a positive imprint. “” Maybe because I don’t do it alone, that I do it with my daughter. There is a symbiosis on work. We have just developed things. I use the experience I have. We are moving forward on products, colors. We have three wools in Ardèche, virgin wool. It is not worked, there is no shade inside. »»
“” Natural wool in our collection is the wool that comes from white sheep. It is simply washed. We have a color called the chocolatey. It’s the black sheep, the washed black wool becomes chocolate. Then we have a mixture of the two, and the wool is gray. We will always look for things elsewhere. I went to Portugal, in the only mountain that exists in Portugal. I found a woolen weaver who worked as in Ardèche, with original wool. But they are weaving and we are now working with wools that come from Portugal and are made by machines that have more than 100 years. I always have a different product search, and my daughter came to work with me. She deals more particularly with Caussün for the individual and participates in creation. So yes, the transmission, it will be kindly, gradually, but it must be done too. »»
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