Ok, I did it. I finally broke down and purchased a pair of Veja Campo Sneakers.
These sneakers have been popular for some time now, donned by celebrities like Emma Watson, Meghan Markle, Emily Ratajkowski, and now – myself. Although I wouldn’t quite describe myself as a celebrity quite yet, these shoes do get my seal of approval.
About the brand
First thing’s first – how do you pronounce the brand name? To clear up any confusion, ‘Veja’, which means ‘look’ in Portuguese rhymes with ‘déjà’ in ‘déjà vu’.
Veja was founded in 2005, on the principles of mixing social projects, economic justice, and ecological materials.
What are they made of?
VEJA uses Brazilian and Peruvian organic cotton for the canvas and laces, Amazonian rubber for the soles, and various innovative materials conceived in recycled plastic bottles or recycled polyester.
The Veja Project
While some of their styles are vegan, not all of them are. According to Good on You (which rates Veja as “good”), Veja’s tanneries are gold certified by the Leather Working Group. The leather comes from areas of Brazil not suffering from deforestation and is considered a byproduct of the meat industry. While leather isn’t perfect, there are a lot of problems with synthetic leather as well. Veja is has also worked to create a more sustainable alternative to leather, which made up 21% of their collection at the end of 2021.
They obtain their organic cotton directly from producers, which also allows these cotton farmers to earn more money. They pre-finance harvests a year in advance, agreeing on prices with the producers at the beginning of the year. The price is market-decorrelated, so Veja can ensure their producers are making a living wage. In addition, all of their cotton is certified organic.
Their mesh materials are made from recycled bottles or recycled polyester. You can learn more about these materials on their website here.
Where are they produced?
VEJA sneakers are produced in high-standard factories in Brazil.
Overall, I’m very impressed with Veja’s transparency. Not only do they know where each piece of their supply chain comes from, they make their information available to the consumer. Veja visits all its final stage of production suppliers to monitor health and safety issues and ensures living wages for most of its supply chain.
How is the sizing?
I’m a size 7.5/8 and ordered these in a size 38. I have a bit of a shorter, wider foot, so I typically size up to an 8 to accommodate width. These shoes do adjust well to wide feet.
They only have whole sizes and based on reviews and how these fit, I’d probably err on the side of sizing down.
Are they comfortable?
Yes. They’re leather, so they do require some breaking in, but I was able to wear these all day without any issues. I didn’t do much walking, but they still stayed comfortable when I was on my feet a decent portion of the day.
Some people have mentioned that the leather doesn’t breathe well all day. I haven’t personally experienced this, but can see how this would happen. They do have canvas and mesh options for those who don’t want to wear leather.
In Summary:
At the end of the day, I am impressed with the quality of the shoes as well as the values Veja upholds. White leather sneakers are a staple in my wardrobe and I can honestly say these fit my foot well. I got the Campo style in Matcha and I definitely think I might get another pair in a more neutral color. For now – these are the perfect color for my summer wardrobe.
