“Sustainability is not just a fad, it is a paradigm shift.”

The Azure Road Take

The deep blue color of the Lola Crossbody caught my eye, along with the beautiful scaled pattern on the exterior of the purse. However, I wondered about the ethics and practices around sourcing and tanning animal skin, cow hide included, and reached out to Piper & Skye to discover more about their company practices. After talking to Piper & Skye’s founder and creative director, Joanna MacDonald, I would learn about a material called pirarucu leather, the history of the animal and its relationship to Amazon communities, and how Piper & Skye uses the skin to create a beautiful luxury product that reduces waste and supports fishing communities. 

Sustainability Chops

From the outset, MacDonald viewed every aspect of her company through the lens of responsible choices, including the interests of stakeholders across the value and supply chains as well as the implications of selected materials.

Piper & Skye’s signature aquatic leather comes from the pirarucu fish, one of the world’s largest freshwater species that can reach up to ten feet in length. Piper & Skye sources it from sustainably-managed fishing communities in the Amazon. As a byproduct of regulated fishing, buying pirarucu leather supports local economies which depend on fishing for their livelihood, while helping to prevent waste.

Piper & Skye evaluates potential materials like pirarucu through its selection criteria, a policy that dictates the material must be used as a food source, be part of an overpopulation or an invasive species in its natural habitat, would otherwise be considered a waste product, and must be managed and overseen by a governing body.

For readers who are unfamiliar with this Jurassic fish, also called arapaima, pirarucu is over 200 million years old. Playing a vital role in the culture and local economy of the Amazon, pirarucu populations landed in a severe state of decline due to illegal poaching and overfishing.

In a rare ecosystem comeback story, the animal’s numbers have surged, thanks to the intervention of the government-backed Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development which helped work out innovative rules for communities to manage their fisheries. Those rules are in effect today. Piper & Skye sources pirarucu leathers from Nova Kaeru, an organic tannery in the Amazon that joined the initiative around 12 years ago. Since then, the pirarucu skin, once previously discarded, has become an important new source of income for riverside communities.

This National Geographic story provides a great overview.

In 2023, Piper & Skye earned Positive Luxury’s Butterfly Mark certification, an independent verification of ethical and sustainability standards in the luxury consumer goods sector.

The Look

The Lola Crossbody is the perfect fashion statement, whether you’re heading to a daytime meeting, an evening party, or need a versatile bag for both when traveling. The bag comes in pirarucu leather which offers visual and textural interest through its large, soft, durable scales. As a fan of the hue blue (Azure Road, after all), I opted for a rich, saturated cobalt though it comes in other colors including black, red, pink, and cognac. For its size and versatility, the bag is one of Piper & Skye’s best-sellers.

As for dimensions, the bag comes with a detachable leather strap that’s 48” long and 1.5” wide. That bag itself is a petite 5” high, 7” wide, and 3.5” deep. It’s just large enough to fit a wallet, phone, keys, and sunglasses. I keep the purse in its soft dust bag, and tuck it into my luggage for trips. So far, the bag has been to Champagne, Tuscany, and Charleston. Retail: $750.

Origin Story 

MacDonald began her journey in handbag design at the London College of Fashion after leaving a career in human resources at a large corporation. Driven by her personal interest in creating high-quality, responsibly made accessories, she launched handbag company Piper & Skye in 2015. Joanna credits her interest in handbags to her late grandmother who taught her that she could make a statement without saying a word by carrying a handbag on her arm.