could this be the greenest shoe ever?

pardon me for i am having a shoe moment here. it's in between seasons now, and while waiting for the great british sales to commence, i... ogle at shoes.

could this be the greenest shoe ever?

working with a group of small producers across brazil, french label veja uses organic cotton and wild rubber to create sneakers that respect both the environment and human rights.



there are 3 main materials making up the shoes:

canvas: the canvas of the sneakers is made with organic cotton grown by a cooperative of small producers in one of the poorest area in brazil.

rubber soles: they buy rubber from the rubber tappers from the amazon and pay them a premium. this fair payment allows them to live on rubber harvesting with dignity and to be less tempted by the financial opportunities of land clearing (burning down forests etc)

leather uppers: veja developed ecological leather treatment, and while most leathers are processed with heavy metals, ecological leather is chrome-free tanned with plant extracts.



the shoes are slightly pricier as veja pays producers from 30% to 100% more than the world market price. the aim is to finance tangible developing projects concerning health, training, education and environmental protection. i particularly love it that fair trade is not a charity act, it’s a commercial act which respects all the participants’ dignity.

veja shoes is available from oki-ni.com.

i love it when people set out to do something with a totally different vision. looking and feeling good with a conscience, we like.