Veja

Veja is a French brand of ecological and fair trade footwear and accessories, founded in 2004 by childhood friends Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillon. After working briefly in banking and then with fair trade pioneer Alter Eco, Sébastien and François-Ghislain travelled the world studying corporate social responsibility, before deciding to build something different from the ground up. Veja was born from a desire for a new kind of fashion - one that proved sustainability and good business could go together. Working with cooperatives of small producers in Brazil and Peru, alongside social associations in France, the brand sources organic cotton for the canvas and laces, wild rubber from the Amazon for the soles, and vegetable-tanned leather for the uppers. Their long-term partnership with the ADEC cooperative in Brazil supports cotton farmers working without pesticides, and Veja's purchase of wild rubber has helped preserve more than 120,000 hectares of Amazon forest. The result is the now-iconic Veja sneaker - clean, classic, beautifully made, and produced in a radically different way to the rest of the industry. Shop Veja online with free urban NZ shipping over $150, or visit either of our Wellington stores.