Veja promotes sneaker repair to reduce waste

Veja, a Paris-based sneaker brand, is promoting shoe repairs to reduce waste. They started a program in 2020 called "Clean, Repair, and Collect" to help people fix their worn-out sneakers instead of throwing them away. The program began in Bordeaux, France. It has since expanded to locations in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Williamsburg, New York. Customers can have shoes from any brand repaired. Since its launch, Veja has repaired around 40,000 pairs of shoes, with 700 repaired in Brooklyn alone. At the Brooklyn store, cobbler Lyle Kokiko repairs shoes, doing 13 to 21 pairs each week. The most common repairs are resoling and heel lining fixes, with prices ranging from $10 to $90. The wait time for repairs is about 4-5 weeks. Veja focuses on using organic and recycled materials in their sneakers. They believe keeping shoes in use is more sustainable than recycling. With the shoe repair business declining, Veja is committed to keeping cobbling alive, as the number of shoe repair shops in France has dropped significantly from 50,000 in the 1950s to just 3,500 today. While the cobbling trade is labor-intensive and lacks formal training programs, interest is being revived through social media and co-working spaces. This encourages new shoemakers like Kokiko, who learned the trade through classes. The repair program also helps Veja improve their products based on how customers use them. Project manager Daniel Schmitt explains that feedback from repairs provides valuable insights into their sneakers. Kokiko observes the varied ways New Yorkers wear their shoes, noting that different lifestyles greatly affect shoe wear and longevity.