After studying economics, at the age of 25, Sébastien Kopp and Ghislain Morillion visited a factory in China in 2003 and discovered the reality behind globalization. Following this experience, they began collaborating with Tristan Lecomte and dive into the principles of fair trade and sustainable economy. Upon returning to France, they resolved to reinvent a meaningful product for their generation: the sneaker. In 2004, they founded VEJA to create sneakers in a different way, by integrating social projects, economic justice, and ecological materials. VEJA means "look" in Portuguese, inviting people to look beyond the sneakers and consider how they are made.