Earth Day Honorees
Three eco-friendly brands who are shaping the fashion industry
Today is Earth Day—and its 50th anniversary.
The popular event was first celebrated in 1970 after an oil well off the Santa Barbara, CA coast blew out. Over three million gallons of oil killed more than 10,000 dolphins, seals, sea lions, and seabirds. A year later, 20 million Americans celebrated planet Earth across thousands of universities, schools, and towns.
These brands are leveraging technology and innovative sourcing processes to create products that are softer on the environment.
VEJA
The French shoemaker was started in 2004 after founders Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion visited factories in South America while running a nonprofit. After seeing disturbing conditions, the two invested about $8,000 of their own money and took out a small loan to start making sneakers.
The bottoms are constructed from rubber found in the Amazon, which decreases deforestation because rubber tappers prefer that work instead of clearing out areas to raise cattle, as told to CNN. The leather is vegetable tanned rather than typical metal-tanned leather that pollutes the water near tanneries. Some versions also feature a waterproof mesh from recycled water bottles.
According to VEJA, the business has been growing 50 percent annually since 2015. Prices start at $95 USD and can be found at veja-store.com and select US retailers like Nordstrom.
RePack
Founded in 2011 to eliminate the waste produced in packaging, RePack is a service that allows e-commerce companies to send their goods in their proprietary bags and have them sent back by the end consumer. RePack then cleans and reuses the bag.
RePack goes a step further in allowing companies to offer rewards for opting in to the shipping option. They also collect feedback and share it with the partner stores. According to their website, “Our data shows RePack users are e- commerce heavy-users. They spend 30% more on average and shop more often.”
AUrate
Bouchra Ezzahraoui and Sophie Kahn met while attending Princeton University and years later turned a brunch-conversation complaint into a brand offering high-quality jewelry at affordable prices. All the pieces are designed and manufactured in New York City using 100% recycled gold, conflict-free diamonds, and other materials sourced from family-run companies.
The pair raised $13 million last June and counts investors like Bluecrest Capital and Victress Capital among its supporters. The jeweler has three physical stores in SoHo, Upper East Side, and Williamsburg. In celebration of Earth Day, AUrate is planting 10 trees with every order.
