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VEJA: The Ethical Sneaker

by Jill Danyelle, 07/08/07

Veja, sustainable sneaker, sustainable shoes, green shoes, green footwear, eco shoes, eco sneaker

In a time when crazy-colored kicks continue to emerge to feed the huge sneaker culture, Veja stands apart from the noise. Their simple, well-made designs make it easy to be ethical. Veja is a Paris-based company producing in Brasil. The shoes are made from natural latex rubber, vegetable-tanned leather and organic cotton. Wild rubber trees are only found in the Amazon and supporting wild latex production helps prevent deforestation in this region. Additionally, through their sourcing of local organic cotton, Veja supports two cooperatives of small producers. Here’s to feeding your shoe fetish in green style.

+ Veja

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21 Responses to “VEJA: The Ethical Sneaker”

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jess Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 2:10 pm

i dont understand how natural latex helps stop deforestation because they have wild latex trees…. they still need to be cut down dont they?

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Luke Seeley Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 3:16 pm

How can I get my hands on a pair of these from all the way in Canada?

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Aran Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

You don’t need to cut down rubber trees to harvest the latex. They are bled like maple trees for maple syrup :) If you are using the wild trees which have commercial value, then you don’t need to cut them down to make $ from timber

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Daniel Says:
July 8th, 2007 at 10:57 pm

The cattle industry is one of the worst in terms of footprint (no pun intended). No thanks, I won’t be buying these until there’s a non-leather option.

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pat Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 3:21 am

AI am pretty sure that the congo region of Africa has shit loads of rubber. it may be from some type of vine, but it definitely has rubber.

thus the reason for the enslavement of much of central africa over the course of the 1800’s and early 1900’s, one of the greatest human tragedies never mentioned. from 1870s to 1910 6 million plus enslaved Africans were killed in efforts to constantly keep natives in fear and scattered and working for the belgium trade companies

but it would be amazing now, if we could start using biorubber again instead of synthetic!

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frances Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 8:04 am

Humans have been wearing leather for many thousands of years – vegetable-tanned leather is 100% organic and would disintegrate back into soil. (Not sure about the white paint or analine dye on it, though). It’s synthetics that are so damaging to the earth. Cattle are damaging, too, when rainforests are cleared for their pasture, but seeing as their byproduct (manure) is fertilizer, and synthetics’ byproducts are often cancer-producing elements, I vote for going the “natural” way of producing a long-lasting material, e.g. veg-tanned leather.

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Erik van Lennep Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 8:37 am

No Free Lunch: only informed (and often difficult) choices. Yep, cattle industry is horribly destructive. So is the cotton industry. Traditionally, the uppers on sneakers are made from cotton. Synthetics are based on oil, vegtable based synthetics still displace rainforest to grow oil crops like palm oil, soya, etc. Tofu production is at the end of a chain that wipes out species and ecosystems, not just individual cows. Hemp tops make very good shoes, longer lasting than cotton. But industrial cropping of anything is going to make a very large footprint. Ahem!

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easied Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

The Veja website is in Portugese. It would be helpful to have sites in English with prices/shipping information available so one can actually purchase/support firms doing good.

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biscuit Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 4:52 pm

The Veja website is actually in French, I think, but theres an English option at the bottom of the page which will translate everything.

The cattle industry definitely has a large negative footprint. However, the majority of these cattle are raised for food. Therefore, isn’t the leather from their hides considered a by-product? If it isn’t used in shoes etc, wouldn’t it just go into the landfill? Until everyone in the world is a vegetarian, doesn’t this seem like a better source of material than making, say, pleather out of petroleum products?

Great shoes! Good to see that they DO come in colors, as well. :)

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Jenny Araskog Says:
July 9th, 2007 at 10:11 pm

Rubber trees do not get cut down, they just get cut…and sort of milked.

Jill Danyelle
Jill Danyelle Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 12:04 am

Commenters,

While the statement in the post may be confusing, we fully realize that latex harvesting does not cut down trees, which I think is exactly the point.

For further information please visit the Veja website.

Jill Danyelle

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PaulS. Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 12:42 am

Funny coincidence I was just reading another blog that asked for responses about the wearing of latex gloves for various home and garage work. The subject of latex allergy was soon brought up. Now this post has prompted me to do the Google search on “latex allergy” and it’s not good news. Among others, both the Center for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the American Academy of Family Physicians have serious warnings on the use of latex products. Latex allergy is mostly an acquired allergy and it can result in fatal reactions. Hopefully the manufacturers of these shoes will strongly emphasize the risk in using their product.

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frances Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 4:09 pm

The shoes are probably lined with a non-latex material, but it would be important to know for sure.

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Joe Says:
July 10th, 2007 at 10:56 pm

If it’s no animal products you want, how about a union-made, fair trade sneaker? No Sweat touts their sneakers as “Fair Trade for a fair price. Globalize Solidarity? No Sweat. . . . No animal products are used in the production of the sneaker making it proudly vegan-friendly and cruelty-free! Buy yours now and be the first on your block to sport the original sweatshop-free shoe! Union made in Jakarta, Indonesia.” So, you can have it all! No Sweat apparel can be found at http://nosweatapparel.com/ , including sneakers that are way cool!

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naturcomments™- the genius of eco-innovation – “the fair trade sneaker” « naturmama® – for natural lifestyles – official blog Says:
July 24th, 2007 at 9:19 am

[...] VEJA – the ethical sneaker  [...]

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Mich Says:
July 29th, 2007 at 10:52 pm

how do you get a pair?

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Funkive › VEJA: The Ethical Sneaker Says:
October 7th, 2007 at 7:23 pm

[...] a time when crazy-colored kicks continue to emerge to feed the huge sneaker culture, Veja stands apart from the noise. Their simple, well-made designs make it easy to be ethical. Veja is a Paris-based company [...]

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Gorilla Says:
November 26th, 2007 at 5:05 pm

I just bought a pair on http://www.adili.co.uk / amazing shoes !!!

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Amanda Says:
February 14th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

Now available online in the US. We’re excited to have Veja as part of our mix at Equita. The collection stands apart with the perfect blend of style and ethics.
http://www.shopequita.com/footwear.htm

Cheers,
Amanda

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Inhabitat » SUSTAINABLE STYLE: Veja’s 2008 Volley Collection Says:
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm

[...] + Veja Online + Veja sneaks are also available at Ekovaruhuset + Veja: The Ethical Sneaker on Inhabitat (July 2007) [...]

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Inhabitat » Jill Fehrenbacher and Inhabitat in Domino Magazine! Says:
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:31 pm

[...] the monthly My Green Life feature. Decked out in sustainable style favorites like Ekovaruhuset and Veja, she talks about living green in NYC and her vision of the perfect way to spend April 22, [...]

 

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