If you haven’t heard of VEJA, it’s probably not because you’ve been living in a cave. You won’t find them advertised on TV, billboards or in magazines, as they don’t believe in advertisements, not in the traditional sense anyway. VEJA believes that eliminating the costs of advertising, marketing and on-boarding brand ambassadors, means they can optimize the sustainability of their brand and reinject the cost of marketing, into the phase that comes before the assembly line.
This makes sense considering that producing a pair of environmentally responsible VEJA sneakers costs five times more than standard sneakers, due to the use of raw materials that value fair-trade principles, the environment and workers’ rights.
“By eliminating advertising, VEJA reallocates the resources that would typically go into marketing toward what truly matters – ensuring the well-being of the people producing our sneakers in the fields and factories.” [1]
Image source: VEJA
Veja founders and childhood friends Sebastien Kopp and Francois-Ghislain Morillion grew the global sustainable shoe brand from the ground up, and have sold their sneakers in more than 100 countries, racking up sales of 12 million pairs of sneakers and counting since 2004. VEJA, which is Brazilian for ‘look’, is a nod to the companies’ ethos of looking beyond the product, looking at how it’s made and how that effects the people and the planet around them.
The VEJA venture started in 2004 and since then, 36 styles have been designed with collaborations with fashion names such as Mansur Gavriel, Rick Owens and Marni (pictured below). In 2019, after 4 years of research and development, VEJA launched its first ecological running shoe, with the purpose to mix performance, bio-based and recycled materials. These guys were passionate about sustainability long before it became sexy!
“We won’t stop showing people that fashion design and respect for the environment are achievable, even if it is not the easier path to follow.”
Images Source: VEJA Store
VEJA is now one of the biggest success stories in sustainable fashion, but what makes VEJA sneakers so special? They’re made from organic cotton grown by farmer’s associations in Brazil and Peru, responsibly sourced Amazonian rubber, which is used in the sole of every sneaker, and recycled polyester fabrics. More than 3500 tonnes of quantity of Amazonian rubber and more than 1600 tons of organic cotton have been purchased from 2004 till the end of 2022. What’s more is the factories that make Veja sneakers are located in the state of Rio Grande Do Sul, where Workers’ rights are respected and extra hours are paid.
It comes as no surprise then that VEJA was certified B Corp in 2018, with a goal of enhancing the economic value of the forest in order to protect it. As we know, VEJA don’t shy away from their environmental responsibility, and this became even more apparent when the company delved publicly into their Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions. They found that their scope 1 and 2 emissions represent 0,03% of the brand’s total carbon footprint, meaning the remaining was all scope 3, which predominantly comes from their sneaker production and raw materials. [2]
VEJA assess its entire supply chain from the raw materials used to make the sneakers, to emissions generated from the shoe factories that manufacture the sneakers, all the way through to the end of life treatment of the shoes, assessing whether they have been collected, repaired, reused, or recycled. The end of life of VEJA sneakers only generates 3,3% of the brand’s total emissions, a number that they claim is still one of their biggest concerns. In a bid to reduce that number, VEJA are now collecting old sneakers to be cleaned, repaired, or recycled in shops in Paris, Bordeaux, and New York. [3]
‘Being aware of the origin of our materials allows us to create a different end life for our sneakers’. [4]
Sebastien and Francois-Ghislain have rejected countless offers of investment in VEJA, fearing it may lead to a dilution in their vision and core values to provide a truly sustainable product, without compromising on their social and economic responsibility.
I don’t know about you, buy I for one am excited to see what’s next for both the brand and the two sustainability masterminds behind it.
[1] https://project.veja-store.com/en/single/ads
[2] https://project.veja-store.com/en/single/emissions
[3] https://project.veja-store.com/en/single/emissions
[4] https://emirateswoman.com/exclusive-interview-founders-cult-sneaker-brand-veja/
