Vegan brand Veja opens first sustainable Test Hub to clean, restore and recycle your old trainers

Sustainable sneakerheads, this one's for you
Veja x Darwin
Naomi May28 July 2020

Vegan footwear brand Veja has opened its first Test Hub in a former military barracks, named Darwin, in Bordeaux.

The space, called Veja x Darwin, is dedicated to recycling and restoring worn-out or pre-loved Veja sneakers, as well as offering customers the chance to buy previous design prototypes with minimal defects or past season samples.

The aim of the store is to establish a blueprint for how to help reform the issue of waste and recycling in the fashion industry.

Staying true to its green roots, Veja partnered with architecture agency Le Bureau Baroque to create the space using locally sourced wooden materials and to ensure that it's powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

Veja x Darwin

A social media post from the brand wrote: "Thought as a laboratory, VEJA x Darwin is meant to create the store of the future. It brings together never launched prototypes, sneakers with minimal defects at reduced prices and a few pairs from old collections. A shoemaker’s workshop will clean and repair worn pairs, while those in poor condition will be collected and recycled.VEJA worked on a rough space with limited waste."

Since launching in 2004 in France, Meghan Markle-approved Veja has gone from strength to strength and sold approximately 550,000 pairs of shoes last year. It has also opened two stores in the last ten months, one in Paris, one in New York.

Darwin was launched in Bordeaux in 2007 by founder Philippe Barre who renovated the former barracks. Darwin is now is home to 200 companies, including an urban farm, XXL skate-park, an organic grocery store and an organic restaurant.

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