Veja

Where it's made

Country conditions from the ITUC Global Rights Index, Global Slavery Index and living wage benchmarks. Certifications and audits can raise a company above its countries' baseline.

Why this grade

• Cotton is linked to forced labour (Xinjiang, Turkmenistan) and child labour in several growing regions. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing)
• Certified B Corp: Whole-company assessment. Labour is one part of the score, so it is supportive rather than proof.
• Fair Trade certified factory: Fair Trade USA factory standard: audited conditions plus a premium paid to workers. Does not require a full living wage.
• Direct trade with published prices
• Direct trade (self-reported)
• Independent social audits of all its main factories
• Modern slavery statement
• Invests in worker and farming communities
• Uses high-risk raw materials (e.g. leather tanning, mica, artisanal gold)
• Traces high-risk raw materials to the mine or farm and fixes problems found

VEJA makes its sneakers in Brazil, plus one factory in Portugal for a single line. Two Brazilian factories that make 75% of its production are Fair Trade Certified, and 1% of each pair's cost goes into a fund run by the workers. It publishes a factory social audit and the average production-line wage (R$2,015 a month in 2024), but does not compare this to a living wage or publish a full supplier list. It buys wild Amazon rubber directly from about 2,500 families at around five times the market price. Its leather comes from southern Brazil and Uruguay through Leather Working Group Gold tanneries and is traced to the slaughterhouse. Cattle from Brazil is on the US government's child and forced labour list.