Vegan and eco-responsible: Discover COG’s made in Europe sneakers

Whether we are talking about shoes, accessories, clothing, or more generally everything related to fashion, these last decades have seen the offer explode, to become so wide and varied, that everyone has the possibility of dressing themselves in a style all his own. Shoes, and more particularly, sneakers are of course no exception to the rule; between rhinestones and colorful prints, we'll be amazed. If it is true that these stylistic assets give everyone the opportunity to assert through their look and their style of clothing - or their pair of trendy sneakers - a little of their personality, this heterogenization of fashion and this range of clothing have a significant environmental but also social cost.

Indeed, producing such extensive ranges of clothing and shoes, what's more, sold cheaply to be accessible to all, requires reducing the production costs of the items offered for sale. And this is done by two means:

• Lower the quality of items (use of cheap, low-quality materials that are often polluting)
• Use cheap labor; which leads to employing people who are poorly regarded and poorly paid.
  

This movement of production in large quantities and poor quality is now well known to the public, under the name of fast fashion. Literally, fast fashion, or in other words, “quickly produced, quickly bought, quickly thrown away”. Many brands of shoes, sports sneakers, accessories, and brands in the clothing industry are relocating their production to countries in the economic South, particularly to Asia, to benefit from higher profits.

Far from being supporters of these immoral methods, at COG, we are on the contrary more than anything attached to the human values ​​on which our brand was based, and which it continues to apply since its launch. Like our vegan shoes (women's/ men's brogues , ankle boots for women and men , etc.) and our sneakers without materials of animal origin , all our vegan shoes are made by maximizing the use of synthetic and plant-based materials. recycled, and assembled by local artisans and partners based in Europe. As for our workshops, all are in Portugal. Ecological vegan materials produced in Europe, eco-responsible items made in close collaboration with local artisans in Portugal, secure working environment for our partners, workshops meeting European health standards, qualified workforce; There is no shortage of reasons to opt for shoe production made in Europe.

In this article, we detail in more detail the motivations for our choice of handmade made in Europe for our vegan shoes.

To begin with, European legislation establishes rules and standards intended to protect the individual in the context of their work.

In addition, there is nothing to certify that each European shoe factory and sneaker manufacturing workshop scrupulously follows the labor laws set by Europe, our team visits the manufacturing workshops at least once a year, but also - within the limits of the possibilities available to us - from our suppliers of textile materials and assembly materials (sole manufacturers, shoe box manufacturers, etc.).

This allows us to see for ourselves that the framework in which your vegan sneakers and shoes are produced respects the standards mentioned above, and that the women and men employed in our partner workshops work in respectable conditions. This production framework is offered to us in the northern region of Portugal, where people cutting materials, sewing, assembling shoes, etc. work in clean and secure premises.

Finally, if any workplace, as long as it ensures that it respects certain standards and conditions, can prove to be a fulfilling working environment, a production workshop on a human scale makes it possible to facilitate human exchanges, and to better ensure to the well-being of each factory employee. For this reason (and many others), all the models offered by our brand are assembled by hand, in family homes, passing down their know-how from generation to generation as an inheritance.

First of all, what would be our definition of the perfect (or almost) ecological shoe ?

The 5mm thick foot horn, or at most the natural beech wood clog.

But to be more serious and realistic:

• A vegan shoe , and as such, does not contribute to the numerous environmental nuisances caused by livestock farming.
• A shoe produced in a geographical area close to its storage location (if possible its place of sale) and transported by less polluting means of transport.
• A vegan shoe and/or sneaker made from the textile materials most in line with a logic of ecological sustainability : plant materials composed of a high percentage of natural materials, or recycled synthetic materials, materials produced locally around the shoe assembly areas , potentially recyclable materials at the end of their life, organically sourced natural materials.
• A vegan sneaker or vegan shoe made from a reduced variety of materials .
• Quality and robust cruelty-free materials, for a durable vegan shoe , which stands the test of time, leading to a reduced need for renewal, and by association reduced consumption.

Did you know that certain European countries, notably Italy, leading countries in the fashion and leather goods industry, but also Spain, are pioneers in the field of sustainable fashion and production of plant materials comparable to leather with a vegan composition?

Are in fact produced on European soil a wide choice of plant alternatives approved by the “ PETA approved ” label? Material made from grape marc, textile material made from apple waste, imitation leather and textile coverings made from cereals, is the vegan shoe sector made in Europe about to become a fruit paradise?

Regarding your models of cruelty free COG shoes for women and men, whether it is the recycled cork from which the insoles of our men's/women's sneakers are made, or the vegetable imitation leather made from grape waste which covers the upper of our Topsy sneakers, our Wallace high-top sneakers or even our vegan Laïka women's ankle boots or Aïko women's Richelieu models, all of these materials are produced in Europe. The same goes for the plastic fibers from materials recovered from the sea and recycled which constitute the interior covering of our women's/men's sneakers, or the imitations covering our Winton and Raven sneakers.

In addition, the costs of companies (salaries, taxes, premises, etc.) have an impact on the cost of production of goods created, a French confection would imply a sales price which, although in every respect justified and justifiable, could prove to be dissuasive for consumers, accustomed for decades to buying items at knockdown prices, because they benefit from a workforce based outside the European Union, and infinitely less well paid. Our objective through COG is not only to offer quality vegan products, made in a human setting, but also to make people aware of the reality of the real manufacturing cost of an item made in Europe, and therefore produced in a human framework. This is the reason why, while paying particular attention to the working conditions of our workshop partners in Portugal, we want to offer our shoes at an affordable price, not prohibitive, but also reflecting the real cost of their ethics manufacturing, and their quality . Considering these criteria and our expectations, Portugal seems to be the area best suited to our needs at the moment.

Finally, the northern region of Portugal, where our eco-responsible shoes are manufactured, is a microcosm bringing together all the suppliers of textile materials and accessories specific to the world of footwear (eyelets, interior reinforcements, buckles, zippers, imitation leather and imitation nubuck, etc.). ) which allows us to take advantage of all the components and trained personnel and a wealth of knowledge, necessary to bring our collections to life, without having to generate new import/export flows.

Furthermore, as a French brand keen to support a local production effort, our team continues to explore opportunities for French production, and eco-responsible and local alternatives (French materials such as linen)

Keep your eyes peeled, COG items made in France, sorry, made in France, could well see the light of day soon.