The brand that I choose to write about is Veja. This is a sneaker brand that promotes sustainable fashion. All the sneakers I currently own or had owned in the past few years are Veja. It is reasonably priced, comfortable, long-lasting, and the designs can go with many different style outfits.
In 2003 the founders established their production chain in Brazil after meeting with organic cotton farmers. The founders are named Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion. The brand officially launched in 2005 in Paris. The following year, their first collection was designed and made with vegetable-tanned leather. Today every part of the sneaker is unique. The sole of the shoe is made out of waterproof bottle mesh. The material from the sole of their trainers is wild rubber sourced directly from the Amazon rainforest. This wild rubber is the only place in the world where it naturally grows in the wild. The company, Veja, also pays more than the market price to the rubber tappers for this wild rubber.
The company makes sure that the farmers don’t use pesticides or any chemicals on its cotton. On top of that Veja pays double the market price for their cotton allowing farmers to make a better wage. 80% of the workers that work in the Veja factories in Brazil belong to a union and the company claims to uphold labor standards set by the International Labor Organization.
Personally, I buy my shoes directly from the Veja store in Manhattan but this brand is in many stores such as Nordstrom. The company’s social responsibility comes in paying fair wages and sourcing their product ethnically. One of the things I recommend is helping the local community in Brazil where the factories are or where the materials are being sourced from. Their factories in Brazil help create jobs for the local community but can be more done to help the community. They also have the option of moving the production line to the United States to help promote local job growth. Since the company uses wild rubber from the Amazon rainforest, the company could donate to organizations that support stopping deforestation or protecting animals within the forest. Finally, despite the company’s claims of ethical production and sourcing, there has never been proof or any study shown to the public of what they claim to do.
I’ve never heard about this company and it seems pretty cool. But i love how they are very cautious about chemicals they can harm their products. I think it’s amazing that they pay their farm workers really good and how they aren’t taking advantage of their workers in brazil like other companies when they have factories outside of the US.