Vegan and eco-friendly: Discover COG's European-made sneakers

Whether we're talking about shoes, accessories, clothing, or anything related to fashion in general, the last few decades have seen an explosion in the market, becoming so vast and varied that everyone can now dress in their own unique style. Shoes, and sneakers in particular, are certainly no exception; between rhinestones and colorful prints, the choices are dazzling. While it's true that these stylistic advantages allow everyone to express a bit of their personality through their look and clothing style—or their trendy pair of sneakers—this heterogeneity of fashion and this wide range of clothing options come at a significant environmental and social cost.

Indeed, producing such extensive ranges of clothing and shoes, moreover sold cheaply to be accessible to all, requires reducing the production costs of the items offered for sale. And this is done in two ways:

• Lowering the quality of products (using cheap, low-quality, and often polluting materials)
• Using cheap labor; which means employing people who are undervalued and poorly paid.
  

This trend of producing large quantities of mediocre 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 discarded.” Many shoe brands, athletic sneakers, accessories, and clothing industry retailers are thus relocating their production to developing countries, particularly in Asia, to maximize profits.

Far from being supporters of these immoral methods, At COG, on the contrary, we are more than ever attached to human values. on which our brand was founded, and which it continues to apply since its launch. Like our vegan shoes (Richelieu women's/man, women's ankle boots And men. .) and of our sneakers without materials of animal origin, All our vegan shoes are made using a combination of synthetic and recycled plant-based materials, and assembled by local artisans and partners based in Europe. Our workshops are all located in Portugal. With vegan-friendly materials produced in Europe, eco-responsible products crafted in close collaboration with local artisans in Portugal, a safe working environment for our partners, workshops meeting European health and safety standards, and a skilled workforce, there are plenty of reasons to choose shoes made in Europe.

In this article, we explain in more detail the reasons for our choice of handmade, European-made vegan shoes.

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

Furthermore, since there is no guarantee that every European shoe factory and sneaker workshop strictly adheres to European labor law, our team visits the workshops at least once a year, but also - within the limits of the possibilities available to us - our suppliers of textile materials and assembly materials (sole manufacturers, shoe box manufacturers, etc.).

This allows us to see for ourselves that the environment in which your vegan sneakers and shoes are produced meets the standards mentioned above, and that the men and women employed in our partner workshops work in respectable conditions. This production environment is provided to us in the northern region of Portugal, where those involved in cutting materials, sewing, assembling shoes, etc., work in clean and safe facilities.

Finally, while any workplace, provided it adheres to certain standards and conditions, can be a fulfilling work environment, a human-scale production workshop facilitates human interaction and better ensures the well-being of each factory employee. For this reason (and many others), all the models offered by our brand are hand-assembled in family workshops, passing down their expertise from generation to generation as a legacy.

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

A 5mm thick hoof horn, or failing that, a natural beechwood clog.

But to be more serious and realistic:

• A vegan shoe, and which, 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 from its point of sale) and transported by less polluting means of transport.
• A vegan shoe and/or sneaker made from textiles that best align with ecological sustainability principles. : plant-based materials composed of a high percentage of natural materials, or recycled synthetic materials, materials produced locally around the shoe assembly areas, materials potentially recyclable at the end of their life, bio-sourced natural materials.
• A vegan sneaker or vegan shoe made of a reduced variety of materials.
• High-quality, robust, cruelty-free materials, for a sustainable vegan shoe, which withstands the test of time, resulting in less need for renewal, and consequently reduced consumption.

Did you know that some 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 the production of plant-based materials similar to vegan leather?

Indeed, a wide range of plant-based alternatives approved by the " PETA approved "? Material made from grape pomace, textile material made from apple waste, imitation leathers and textile coatings made from cereals, is the vegan shoe sector made in Europe on the verge of becoming a fruit paradise?

Regarding your COG cruelty-free shoe models for women and men, whether it's the recycled cork used for the insoles of our men's/women's sneakers, the plant-based leather made from grape waste that covers the upper of our Topsy sneakers, or our high-top sneaker Wallace or even our vegan women's ankle boot models Laïka or Richelieu woman AïkoAll these materials are produced within Europe. The same applies to the plastic fibers from sea-recovered and recycled materials that make up the inner lining of our men's and women's sneakers, or the synthetic materials covering our sneakers. Winton And Raven.

Furthermore, since business expenses (salaries, taxes, premises, etc.) are reflected in the production cost of goods created, French manufacturing would imply a selling price which, although entirely justified and justifiable, could prove prohibitive for some consommateurs.trices, regular.e.s for decades buying items at rock-bottom prices, because they take advantage of a workforce located outside the European Union, and paid infinitely less. Our goal with COG is not only to offer high-quality vegan products made in a humane environment, but also to raise awareness of the true cost of manufacturing an item made in Europe, and therefore produced in a humane environment. This is why, while paying particular attention to the working conditions of our workshop partners in Portugal, We aim to offer our shoes at an affordable price, not prohibitive, but one that also reflects the true cost of their ethical manufacturing and quality.. Considering these criteria and our expectations, Portugal seems to be the most suitable location for our needs at the moment.

Finally, the Northern region of Portugal, where our eco-responsible shoes are made, is a microcosm bringing together all the suppliers of textile materials and accessories specific to the world of footwear (eyelets, internal reinforcements, buckles, zippers, imitation leathers and imitation nubuck…) which allows us to take advantage of all the components and trained staff 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 committed to supporting local production efforts, 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 articles made in France, sorry, manufactured in France, could well appear soon.