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Conscious Fashion

Bobo DXB
May 10, 2017
2 min read

Whoever watched the documentary "The True Cost" on Netflix can not ignore anymore the impact of fast fashion on our planet. On top of exploiting workers in the worst conditions you can imagine, top brands are slowly but surely destroying the eco-system by using & abusing chemicals or over-exploiting the fields to produce cotton.

I am not gonna detailed how but I invite you to watch it and you will see your visits to the mall might feel a bit bitter than before. Ex-shopaholic I would lie saying I do not shop fast fashions anymore. I am too much of a fashionista to reach this yet but I am genuinely trying to find better alternative to feed my style obsessions.

Luckily, more and more brands are becoming aware of the damages they make and try to improve their sustainability. H&M, even if their global policy can be discussed, started with the H&M Conscious line, using only cotton made in a ethical and sustainable way. Adidas is launching shoes made with recycled plastic bottles as part of their Parley program to decrease marine plastic pollution. These are encouraging first steps but luckily some brands were "avant-guarde" and took strong committed position from day 1.

Veja, a french sneakers company is one of them. Founded in 2004 by Sébastien Kopp & François Morillion, two business school buddies with a vision, Veja sided with transparency and dignity before sustainability became a trending subject.

They totally re-thought the way of doing sneakers, working with small corporations of farmers in Brazil, making sure suppliers and workers were getting their piece of the cake, using organic cotton and rubber from the Amazon and producing in a environmentally friendly way. We are far from the scandals surrounding the giant sneakers producers...

Credit : veja.com

With a no advertising policy - to avoid wasting money, a minimalistic yet stylish design and a minimal production based on orders - to avoid waste of raw materials and over-production, the future of the brand was uncertain. However, 13 years later the brand keeps growing and its sustainable policy has never been more actual.

I just love their design, the quality of their leather and just the story behind the shoes. It might sounds very shallow but I feel better buying their shoes when I know I am supporting a family in Brazil without hurting the planet too much.

Veja recently launched a Vegan collection of sneakers made without any leather to answer the growing demand of animal cause supporters.

I hope more and more brands will decide shortly to follow the same path and stop destroying the planet and the life of thousands of family. Being stylish should be achievable without a the guilty after-taste...