Where The Wild Rubber Meets The Road
Issue No 3: Veja
Editor’s Note
Hello,
In this issue we’re taking a look at Veja, the French sustainable sneaker brand, and how they are making their products better to last longer. As the third brand we’re featuring, we’re starting to see larger patterns, but as always, the devil is in the details.
For example, Veja don’t do advertising, making the argument that “70% of the cost of a normal big sneaker brand is related to advertising”. Instead, they allocate the marketing budget to pay five times more per sneaker for sustainable raw materials that respect fair-trade principles, the environment, and workers' rights.
I’ve made the first issue about Patagonia – The Responsible Company – completely free so you can get a feel for the structure and content. All the following weekly issues are paid subscriptions, mirroring the same structure with relevant brand content.
We are currently offering the yearly subscription for 50 percent off for a limited period. That’s about $2.50 per issue per week, $125 dollars per year, to learn the secrets behind the fifty most sustainable brand’s business models and innovations.
For people, planet, and profit,
Per Håkansson (follow on LinkedIn), Publisher and founding editor
Table of Contents
Veja’s Story
Veja was founded in 2004 by Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion, two French entrepreneurs who were passionate about creating a sustainable sneaker brand. The brand's name, Veja, is Portuguese for "see", which reflects the company's commitment to transparency and accountability.
Kopp and Morillion traveled to Brazil to meet with organic cotton farmers and wild rubber tappers to establish the production chain behind Veja. They wanted to create sneakers that were made with sustainable materials and that supported fair labor practices.
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