Pair of trainers designed by Lily Cole, Veja, 2014

In 2014, with support from World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and Sky Rainforest Rescue, actress and former model Lily Cole teamed up with ethical footwear brand Veja to launch a range of trainers made with wild rubber. The trainers’ uppers are made from organic cotton and the soles contain 40 to 50% wild rubber. Inspired by her visits to the rainforest, Cole designed a print for the trainers in three different colourways.

Rubber trees grow naturally in the Amazon rainforest. The wild rubber trade is managed by skilled local families who extract the sap from the trees without damaging or cutting them down. Environmental campaigners argue that the wild rubber trade is a positive and proactive way to protect areas of rainforest.

Lily Cole is an outspoken supporter of wild rubber and has discussed the subject in interviews with Vogue, NOWNESS, the Financial Times and several other media outlets. Veja is a fashion brand that seeks sustainable materials such as organic cotton, wild rubber and leather tanned with plant extracts. All of Veja’s trainers include wild rubber. The brand works directly with co-operatives in Brazil producing sustainably-grown organic cotton and wild rubber.

Sky Rainforest Rescue is a partnership of Sky and WWF that began in 2009 with the aim of saving one billion trees in the Amazon rainforest by 2015.
When the trainers were first released, they were sold through several different retailers including Selfridges and Topshop as well as on Veja’s online store. For every pair sold, £10 went to the WWF and Sky Rainforest Rescue project. Subsequently, the remaining stock of trainers was donated to WWF to be sold on their online store, with the full price of the trainers minus postage costs going straight to WWF.

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