A. THE MAIN FACTS ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMPANY Veja is a french brand of ecological and fair trade footwear and accessories that was founded in 2004 by Sebastien Kopp and Ghislain Morillion. Born out of a desire for a new kind of fashion, Veja works with cooperatives of small producers and social associations in Brazil and France.
Veja has a staff of almost 30 operating in Paris, London and Brazil.Today, Veja products – that have already been featured on Vogue, The Guardian, Clark, Monocle or Spray- are distributed in selected shops around the world like Le Bon Marche and FrenchTrotter in Paris, Selfridges in London, Oi Polloi in Manchester, EKS in Madrid, Prive Joke in Brussels… The company has approximately 150 stores worldwide. Veja carries its own online store (www. veja-store. com) featuring online exclusives and a selection of the Veja collection.
B. THE ETHICAL CHALLENGES THIS COMPANY IS ADDRESSING C.WHAT MAKES YOU BELIEVE THIS COMPANY IS REALLY ETHICAL AND WHY YOU TRUST IT We believe that this company is ethical since it has been their key idea since the beginning. They have integrated the ethical thinking in all parts of the company and it’s the main idea of their strategy and business.
We think that they are very inspiring since they believe that “another world is possible” and they are working towards that goal. On their webpage you can read about what they do and how they work. They write about that they have a zero zero strategy, their certifications, how they work for the environment and better conditions for workers.But what makes us trust this company even more is that they are also showing their limitations and not just the good parts. On the webpage they write that they are not perfect and they describe the company as a project that is constantly evolving. Certifications are something that can be seen as prove of their work.
Veja thinks that certifications aren’t their ultimate goal but it is minimum standards and a starting point. •FLO / FAIRTRADE standards - In 2009 the association of cotton producers Veja work with (ADEC) have received the compliance certificate for the FLO / FAIRTRADE standards. In 2007, Veja began the organic certification process for the cotton produced by ADEC. Veja is saying that their sneakers are three-four times more expensive than the competition and by explaining why they are more expensive they gain trust.
This makes us think that Veja seems to be an honest and transparent company. D. THE POSSIBLE CHALLENGES FACING THE COMPANY IN THE FUTURE AND HOW YOU THINKS THIS COMPANY MAY IMPROVE The company is honest and admits that the Veja project is far from being perfect.Here we have some limitations: laces are not made with organic cotton, American and Asiatic clients are delivered by plane instead of boat, the pigments used for dyeing leather, rubber and cotton, are not made from natural products. In order to obtain a consistent colour without staining, Veja uses conventional dying approved by Ecolabel.
Also Veja’s production is limited and dependent on the harvests of organic cotton and after a caterpillar attack, producers decided to spray pesticide to protect their harvest.But Veja is an investigation, a project that is constantly evolving. This consistent development aims to reach perfection. The company is aware about make an improvement like produce recycling trainers, development of vegetable and non-polluting colour pigments. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://rankabrand. org/sustainable-shoes-footwear/Veja http://www.
pirouetteblog. com/brands/company-profile-veja/ http://www. thecoolture. com/eco-sustainability/veja-stylish-ecological-sneakers-and-bags-100-made-in-brazil/ http://blog.
veja. fr/en
