Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Veja—Ecological Accessories

Veja has been working for 5 years in Brazil on an innovative and progressive project creating new agricultural channels and raising crafting standards, whilst respecting both the environment
and human rights.

Last winter, Veja debuted a collection of bags and accessories. The Veja bags and accessories are made with ecological materials.

The lining and canvas are made from organic cotton grown by a co-operative of producers in the Northeast of Brazil. The cotton is grown in the agro ecology method which bans the use of chemicals and pesticides. The leather is tanned with acacia extracts; a natural, non-polluting tannin.

Veja has created a global chain that emphasizes solidarity and the environment ranging from the small producers in Brazil to the European concept stores.

The bags are made of organic cotton, wild rubber from the Amazon and vegetable-tanned leather. The bags are assembled in an atelier that respects the workers’ rights.

Bags, accessories and trainers are transported by boat from Porto Alegre, Brazil, to Le Havre in France. Upon arrival in Le Havre, they travel in barges along canals to the Parisian suburbs.

Veja has created a partnership for the storage and the deliveries of the bags and trainers with a social association, Atelier Sans Frontieres. The association helps people reintegrate to society through work.

Veja buys organic cotton and wild rubber under fair trade principals, respecting all the partners involved.

In 2003, the two founders of Veja traveled around the world studying sustainable development projects (http://www.justeplanete.org/). In Chinese factories, South-African mines and the Amazon rainforest, they have looked for solutions to the problems of our times: massive deforestation, exhaustion of natural resources, labor exploitation… Veja is the logical result of this adventure.

See the accessories here.

Photos & text Copyright Veja.