Veja Fair Trade eco-sneakers

A company out of France launched in 2005 a good-looking, fair trade shoe with primarily earth-friendly materials.

Veja imports organic cotton from Northeastern Brazil while simultaneously encouraging crop diversity from their suppliers. Additionally, all the rubber used for the soles is natural rubber from Amazon Hevea trees, sourced from rubber tappers with a commitment to forest preservation.

Veja takes an interesting approach to worker recognition by having select worker's profiles on their website including their personal stories. In addition, Veja's employees receive fair wages and their families have access to a traveling teacher who can teach literacy skills to their children. Additionally, according to Veja the fair trade premium paid to the producers aims at financing concrete development projects in health, education or environment fields.

The first Veja model (Veja Trainer) is inspired by Brazilian volley shoes from the 1970s. This summer Veja launches a new collection called Tauá (named after the little village in Northern Brazil where the organic cotton is produced). So walk ethic and fashion this summer...