France: first fair trade and ecologic sneakers

New trends could help the blossoming of fair initiatives : the example of Vega, a new french enterprise in Paris, opens up different horizons. Buying sneakers might be a sustainable action from now. The sole of Veja is made with natural latex coming straight from the Amazonian rainforest and taken from the trees by the ” seringueiros “, the heveas ” bleeders “, small producers living in the jungle. The Veja firm pays its raw materials from 30% to 100% more than the conventional market price. This fair price that enables sustainability allows the producers and local NGOs to invest in social and environmental projects in fields such as health, education, and protection of the forest. The fabrication is made in a Brazilian cooperative that respects the labor international laws and takes care of the profit repartition within the workers. The box, ” Volta a Natureza “, has been designed by the artist Virginie Bergeaud. Do market economies enter a new age under the pressure of new consumers and entrepreneurs ? Perhaps ! www.veja.fr