Where Are Espadrilles Made? Bangladesh, Spain, France

Today, most espadrilles start life in Bangladesh. French Wikipedia says most espadrilles sold in France are imported from India and Bangladesh, and English Wikipedia says Bangladesh, the world's largest jute producer, makes many of the jute soles. Spain, France and Italy import jute soles from there and add the upper at home. Alongside this mass production, smaller workshops still make the whole shoe in Spain, in Catalonia and in the French Basque Country.

The map today

The old centres

Before Asia, espadrille production was spread along both sides of the Pyrenees and the Spanish Mediterranean.

• Valencian Country: the Catalan encyclopedia calls la Vall d'Uixó, Elda and Elx the most important industry, and the forerunner of today's Spanish shoe industry.
• Catalonia and Aragon: Tortellà and Benavarri are named by the same encyclopedia.
• French Catalonia: French Wikipedia says the industry reached Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans around 1860. In the early 20th century, more than 1,000 of its 3,000-plus inhabitants worked in canvas and espadrilles; by 1976, only 490 people were left in the trade. La Farga d'Avall is also mentioned.
• Mauléon, Basque Country: the Basque encyclopedia Auñamendi counts about 40 espadrille factories in 1946, then only five after the 1985 crisis, as competition came first from Asia, then from Spain and China.

Why production moved

The sources give two reasons. First, cost: jute is cheaper and easier to source than esparto, says English Wikipedia, and Bangladesh is the world's largest jute producer. Second, competition: Auñamendi records a 20% drop in Mauléon's output in the 1960s because of foreign competition, mainly from Asia. TOAST sums it up: most espadrilles are now mass-produced in Bangladesh.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is to assume that a shoe made in Spain or France was braided there. Many European makers finish the upper on a sole imported from Asia, so the place of assembly and the place of braiding can differ. A second mistake is to treat the old centres as still active: several places that once made espadrilles in large numbers now keep only a few workshops, and their names survive mostly in history. A third is to assume that a traditional style means a traditional process. A shoe can look like a Catalan or Basque model and still come off an industrial line. Read the origin of the sole, not only the picture on the page.

Cas particuliers

A few cases need extra care. Espadrilles sold as Basque or Catalan are not always made in those regions, so the name of a tradition is not a guarantee of origin. Workshops that make the whole shoe on site are rarer, so their pairs are harder to find, and it helps to ask in advance. If you plan a visit to Mauléon, check whether the workshop you want is open to visitors before you go, since not all are. For a Catalan pair, ask whether the maker is in Catalonia itself or elsewhere in Spain, since the trade has moved over time.

How to know where a pair was made

• Do not stop at the country on the label: since European makers often finish shoes on soles imported from Bangladesh, as English Wikipedia notes, the label may not tell you where the sole was braided.
• Look for details on the sole: a product page that names the fibre (jute, esparto, hemp) and where the sole was made tells you more than a vague "Mediterranean style".
• Ask the shop or the maker directly whether the sole is made in-house or bought in.

For the fibres themselves, see jute vs esparto. For the Basque and Catalan workshop traditions, see Basque vs Catalan espadrilles.