The promise of sustainability is an undertaking that few labels approach as comprehensively as the sneaker label Veja: It works with organic cotton from Brazil and Peru or with natural rubber from the Amazon rainforest. It is B Corp certified, offers shoe repairs in its own stores and works fair trade. So far, however, this sustainable supply chain has only been located on the other side of the world, namely in Brazil. Not exactly ideal when it comes to CO2 emissions when transporting the shoes – which Veja breaks down in great detail on its website. That should now change, or rather, it has already changed.
Veja secretly began producing three different color styles of the V-90 – Extra-white Pierre Almond, Extra-white Pierre Pekin and Extra-white Pierre Nautico – in Europe in 2023 and has already produced over 80,000 pairs in Portugal without being told communicate. In the future, Portuguese production will complement that in Brazil. “The Porto region has great know-how in shoe production,” says the label. That is why Veja has “chosen a partner who adheres to Veja standards and ensures compliance with good social and environmental practices.”
In this venture, called ‘The Aegean Project’, the French label’s stated aim was to produce sneakers for the European market in Europe, more precisely in Portugal. “We already knew the language and Portugal is a recognized center for shoe production. “It’s in Europe and close to France,” the label explains the decision for the location.
European leather goods expertise in Porto
Portugal, particularly the region around Porto, is known for its leather goods expertise. Many shoe brands manufacture there, including in the same factory. That’s why Veja can rely on the expertise of its partner factory Samba. “The V-90 is made of leather tanned in Portugal, with fewer dyes than before. The suede inserts are from the EU – tanned in Italy, with sensible water consumption, free of dangerous or banned chemicals,” says Veja.
It is a new step for the brand, which will celebrate its twentieth birthday next year. “As we continue to grow, it was only natural that we look for a new production location. We didn’t want to go to Asia like many other sneaker brands, but chose the opposite path.”
Production is overseen from Brazil by the same team that oversees Brazilian production. “We maintain close relationships with the factories because we are closely involved in production. Veja’s team visits the factories regularly to check the quality of the manufacturing processes.”
Presumably the models that come from Portugal and are sold in Europe have a significantly lower carbon footprint than those from Brazil. However, there are no figures available yet. Veja began producing the V-90 sneaker in 2023 and will continuously collect data in 2024 to calculate this year’s carbon footprint of the sneakers produced. In the future, the company plans to differentiate and calculate the carbon footprint of the same sneaker manufactured in Brazil and Portugal.
If you take the promise of sustainabilityAs mentioned at the beginning, if you take it seriously, you just have to be patient.
FashionUnited was invited to visit the Vejas production facility in Porto.