We all saw the sneaker trend crop up on everyone, from designers to celebrities, in 2016—all thanks to the relaunch of the Adidas Stan Smith. This year is no different. With brands producing various iterations of the season’s most beloved shoe silhouette like clockwork, we can only expect that this athletic-inspired footwear will continue to flex its muscles on and off court.
One brand that sneakerheads can feel really good about is Veja. Founded in 2004 by childhood friends Sébastien Kopp and François Morillion, the French line uses eco-friendly and socially conscious methods in producing their footwear. This pair, for example, is made of fairly traded recycled cotton from the waste of Brazilian textile industries, wild rubber from the Amazon, and leather tanned with low amount of chemicals. The result is a minimalist shoe design with a conscience, one that’s capturing the environmental conscious market without trading its ecological credentials. How apropos, because the word “veja” is the Portuguese-Brazilian word for “look”: to look beyond the sneakers and look at how they’re made and how they’re creating a positive impact in the world.
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