Interview with the ethical designer Nae Vegan Shoes
Nae Vegan Shoes (No animal exploitation) is a portuguese vegan brand, who think about animal rights, human rights, sustainability and the environment with their designs. They are spoiling us with their shoes and accessories. After my opinion are they one of the worlds best ethical footwear and accessories designer. And I’m thrilled to have the featured on my blog, for this interview. I’m so excited! – are you? Here is the Q&A’s that I gave to them:
– How do you contribute to a better fashion industry?
NAE stands for “No Animal Exploitation”, a name that carries our mission: to propose an animal-friendly alternative to animal exploitation. Our shoes and accessories are 100% vegan and produced in Portugal. None of our products is made from animal skin, fur, or any other meat by-products. We exclusively choose synthetic, recycled, and natural materials. NAE’s priority is veganism, as well as the number of animals lives, we spare through our materials and manufacturing options. Our environmental concern emerges as a parallel purpose to the brand’s core mission. Therefore, we use materials with such as piñatex, organic cotton, cork, recycled PET, and vegan leather that are absolutely less harmless to the planet than traditional leather, or other materials that have a great impact on the planet.
– What got you the idea in the first place?
When NAE Vegan Shoes was created, I was inspired by a personal need to the padapt rinciples of veganism to the footwear industry and the duty to reduce the impact on animal life. We were in 2008. Since then, the exponential grown of the worldwide vegan community has amplified the impact of our brand.
– Why is it important to change the fashion industry?
The fashion industry is one of the most polluting on the planet. We have to slow down the production of garments and start to consume less and better.
Societies can not think and act like we have infinite resources on a finite planet.
– What would you change in the fashion industry?
There is a lot to do in the fashion industry, but I think the most important thing is to slow down consumption. Information is also one of the most important ways to contribute to changing people’s behavior when it comes to consuming. Know the origin of products, where they are made, how they are made, what materials and what impact they have on the planet throughout its life cycle. The human conditions in which the garments are produced, all of this is important from the point of view of the fashion sector and creating more transparency in the brands is absolutely crucial. So I would say that despite some of the measures may be political, it’s important to penalize, even from the point of view of taxes, production that negatively impacts the planet and value and invest in production /brands / companies that has positive environmental concerns and practices.
– What do you think would happen if we don’t change the fashion industry?
The result could be disastrous because it means that not only would the fashion industry contribute to a saturated and destroyed planet but also other industries. I am an optimist and I see that fortunately many new projects are emerging and even major players in the fashion market are changing the way they do things under pressure from society, so I believe that even slowly we will achieve a more sustainable fashion industry.
“The fashion industry is one of the most polluting on the planet. We have to slow down the production of garments and start to consume less and better.”
Thank you so much Nae Vegan Shoes for answering. Check them out on:
www.nae-vegan.com
