VEJA FOOTWEAR

Veja is a French footwear and accessory brand which creates a positive change in their production by claiming ecological and fair trade conditions. Unlike your regular footwear brand, their shoes are made differently with love and care for the environment and workers. After watching the Sarah Dooley documentary about fashion's dirty secrets which addresses problems surrounding fashion and sustainability, I was really impressed by this brands ethos and was inspired to research and write about it after being told about it by my mum who works in a footwear store.

"Transparency is the future.
Spread the word."

Veja's canvas shoes are made of 100% organic cotton which is grown by cooperatives of farmers who have adopted agro-ecological methods; no chemicals or pesticides are used in the process and all farmers are fairly paid. Each Veja sole is made of 40% of rubber from the Amazon jungle which increases the economic value of the forest and helps fighting against deforestation. Well sourced leather from Porto Alegre, Brazil, is used which ensures low level chemical tanning. During this tanning process, the company pays high attention to the water usage involved to protect our environment further. The leather is also traceable and does not come from areas of deforestation. Impressively, the B-mesh used is 100% made out of recycled plastic bottles, and the jersey lining is made out of 100% recycled polyester coming from plastic bottles; 3 plastic bottles are needed to make just one pare of Veja shoes. The brand have a vegan shoe range which is rather unique, and utilise vegan fabrics such as vegan nubuck which uses less toxic solvants than synthetic suede does, and CWL (corn waste laminate) which is a vegan alternative to their leather styles. Veja's shoes are made in factories located in the state of Rio Grande Do Sul in South Brazil, where there are good working conditions for manufacturers and high respect of worker's dignity and 80% of the workers are unionized. Simple but stylish styles are designed for both adults and children. 

"Eliminating ads, marketing costs, doing away with brand ambassadors, billboards, means investing in reality rather than fiction. It means working back up the production chain and changing it. It means spending more time on the ground, rather than investing in smoke and mirrors."

It is uplifting to see brands so passionate about the environment as well as their working conditions. I definitely believe that this brand deserves more recognition for it's incredible efforts and should inspire other footwear brands to improve their efforts too. 

Check out Veja's website here!:
https://www.veja-store.com/