Veja is the sneaker brand that wants us to look beyond the product and instead focus on how it has been produced.

The brand was founded in 2005 by Sébastien Kopp and François Morillion with the desire to respect human rights and pay decent wages to everyone in the manufacturing chain. They have chosen to approach the sneaker with an ethical and environmentally friendly approach.

Why sneakers?

Simply because they love sneakers and wear them every day. In addition, they see the shoe as a symbol of our generation.

Veja’s model rests on an ethical foundation at all stages of the business. From the purchasing and production cycle, to packaging and distribution. Their minimalist sneakers makes our world a little better through their ethical and sustainable design. Materials used include organic cotton, recycled plastic and a leather substitute made from corn waste. The end products are produced in the factory in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where working conditions and wages are descent and where 82% of the employees are unionized.

Despite high demand, they refuse to build up stocks. They only produce orders dated to the next six months so that the stock does not accumulate or materials are not wasted. They refuse to invest in advertising and instead they use that money to improve their production chain, which they refer to as investing in reality instead of fiction. However, this has been eminent and given them several more or less self-appointed, profiled ambassadors, such as Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg and David Beckham.

“Since advertising is the biggest expense for all the big players in the sneaker game, we decided to remove advertising altogether and redistribute the resources to production, raw materials and to the people who manufacture our products. By ignoring advertising, we can produce sneakers that respect the environment and are more economically fair. The customer gets a transparent, fair product and they only pay for materials and crafts. In addition, word-of-mouth is the most powerful and honest form of advertising, “says François Morillion in an interview with Highsnobiety.

Check out Veja’s sneakers below.