We love Veja sneakers, not only because of their design and quality, but also how they are produced.
Veja has a very unique concept on their sneakers: when you wear their sneakers, you are actually putting “one foot in design and the other one in social responsibility”.
Materials
Veja produce their sneakers in Brazil. They use wild rubber from the Amazon forest to make the iconic “V” logo and the sole of the sneakers. They purchase these rubber from the local Seringueiro communities. These local communities are authorized to harvest and tap rubber trees in the Amazon forest through a path only they know about. It helps against land clearance in the Amazon forest. Moreover, it helps the Seringueiro communities to make a living. Apart from that, Veja also uses vegetable-tanned leather and organic cotton.
Fair Trade
Veja deals with the farmers and associations in Brazil directly and cut the middleman. In fact, they even purchase the organic cotton a year before they are used to produce sneaker to make sure farmers have a decent living standard. They will also pay a premium for every kilo of cotton. These premiums can then finance the operations of these associations.
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You may now wonder if Veja are paying premium to produce their sneakers, how can they keep their price competitive? The reason is that Veja does not spend on advertisement and marketing. So it’s normal if you have never seen one. Instead, they have spent this budget on raw material producers and employees. More importantly, they want to minimize the impact to the environment.
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