El Pasoans Blend Entrepreneurship and Social Justice

“We have so far to go to realize our human potential for compassion, altruism and love.”—Jane Goodall, conservationist, anthropologist and primatologist.

El Paso-born brothers Adrian and Alejandro Velez, along with 3 other partners, founded Austin-based Reto! Accessories in the spirit of altruism, love and compassion. The online sunglasses retailer was launched this March.

“We’ve witnessed some things going on [politically] since Trump took over, and we wanted to find a way to give back to people who are immigrants,” said Adrian Velez. To that end, 20 percent of each sale is donated to various non-profit groups that provide free legal services to undocumented families and individuals.

 

Velez said the sunglasses are “culturally flavored,” and display the red, white and green colors of his family heritage. The idea to incorporate Mexico’s colors was also influenced by the country’s participation in this year’s World Cup games.

In June 2017, the Velez’ and their 3 founding partners decided to incept the idea after discovering a manufacturer in China that would make the products. However, they didn’t actually establish the business until early 2018.

“Sales have been kind of slow,” Velez acknowledged. “We’re trying to increase our user base and establish our brand through social media.” He added they plan on donating to non-profits dedicated to helping D.A.C.A. recipients. “We just haven’t found any groups that create scholarships for D.A.C.A recipients,” he said. “If this thing takes off and we make some money, we’ll just fund it [a scholarship] directly.”

Upon assessing the success of sales, the founders will decide which direction to take the company. If there is a healthy profit margin, that could include donating to other groups, including veterans’ non-profits.

Velez himself is a veteran and is currently a Major in the Texas Army National Guard. He added all of the founding partners hold different causes, including immigration, near and dear to their hearts. “We all come from immigrant parents,” he said.

The founders of Reto! Comprise a highly educated, motivated group. Among them are a couple pilots, an attorney and some business folks. Collectively their college degrees have been bestowed on them by such prestigious universities as Texas A & M, Notre Dame and Rice.

Velez acknowledged while the group would love to dedicate themselves fully to running Reto!, their current level of commitment and desire to help shows “we can all do our part.”

For more info, check out the group’s website at retoworld.com, or their Facebook page: facebook.com/retoaccessories