9 Sustainable Sneakers For Ethical Runs & Eco Strolls

Price Range: $135–$245

Brazilian for “look”, French brand VEJA is changing how the world sees sneakers using biodegradable, recycled, and partially biobased materials for their high-tops, low-tops, volley sneakers, trek shoes, and ethical tennis shoes.

Veja’s Gender Inclusive Campo Sneaker is a retro-inspired shoe with sporty vibes. It features a removable padded insole and a springy outsole to keep you comfortably stylish wherever your day takes you. Vegan styles include the Urca CWL Sneaker and the V-10 CWL, both of which feature a CWL (Cotton Worked As Leather) upper.

About ⅔ of VEJA’s men’s and women’s sustainable sneakers feature leather uppers sourced from LWG Gold-certified tanneries.

Their vegan models swap leather uppers for organic and regeneratively grown cotton, CWL (organic cotton with a 54% bio-based coating made from P.U., corn starch, and ricinus oil), or a recycled polyester mesh.

Other components are partially made from biobased materials such as castor bean inserts, sugar cane midsoles and insoles, and Amazonian rubber and rice waste outsoles. Lining, laces, and buckles are made from recycled polyester or recycled cotton.

This Certified B Corp goes the extra mile for its supply chain, purchasing materials like rubber and organic cotton for double market prices. All raw materials are sourced and processed in Brazil, except for select cotton farming and spinning, which takes place in nearby Peru.

Sneakers are assembled in a factory near Porto Alegre, where workers are protected by a fair trade code of conduct that provides fair wages, benefits, paid vacation, regular schedules, and protection from forced overtime.

Veja’s fair trade tennis shoes cost 5x more to produce, but through forgoing advertising, they’re available at the same price as other brands.

They’ve calculated their scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and created an emissions report to see how they can continue to reduce them, and offer ways for shoes to be repaired or recycled at their shops in Bordeux, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Brooklyn, and London.

VEJA’s Paris warehouse provides opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment. 90% and 25% have had health or housing problems, respectively.