Orders
Can I try on the shoes before buying?
Yes! You can try the shoes on in Den Cirkulære on Jægersborggade, our Phoenix sneakers in Frelsens Hær Redesign on Gl. Kongevej or our blue Phoenix sneakers in Another View on Store Kongensgade.
Can I cancel or change my order?
Yes! Just write your name and order number to us at hello@vaerupcycled.com and we will do everything in our power to help you!
What delivery options do you have?
We deliver to all countries in the world (yes you heard correctly). If you live in the Copenhagen area, you can also choose to pick them up at Den Cirkulære (Jægersborggade 35).
How long does delivery take?
We will send the shoes to you either the same day as you ordered or the day after. From there it takes
- Denmark: 2-4 days
- Other EU countries: 2-5 days
- Outside of EU: 2-7 days
Can I track my order?
Yes! We work with Post Nord and once the order is shipped you will receive a tracking link to your email.
What type of payments do you support?
At the moment we are accepting payments via credit card through the webshop, including: Visa/Dankort, Mastercard, Mobilepay Online, Maestro, Paypal and ApplePay.
We are using Pensopay to make sure the whole process is secure, encrypted and absolutely safe!
Returns & Refunds
Can I return the shoes?
Yes! We do everything in our power to make the most sustainable sneakers, but if they are not being worn - they are not sustainable. Therefore, if the shoes don’t fit, we can send you a new size or refund your purchase. We will send you a pre-paid return label to send back your sneakers. The only important thing is that we can sell the sneakers again, so please try them on at home so they don't get dirty :) If you want to exchange or return your shoes please write to us at hello@vaerupcycled.com with your name and order number.
How long does it take to get the money refunded?
Once we have received your return it can take up to 10 business days until you have your money back on your account. This is set up by our payment provider, so we can't control how quickly it gets back to you. Nonetheless our team is here for you and if you have any concerns about the refund then write to us at hello@vaerupcycled.com.
The sneakers
Where are the shoes made?
VAER sneakers are designed in Copenhagen, and produced in Portugal. Once we have gathered our textile waste and it has gone through all the pre-production stages, it is sent to our suppliers and manufacturers in Portugal. In the process of selecting who to work with, we focused on quality and sustainability, because we wanted to ensure that our sneakers are of the highest quality!
You can find a more detailed overview of the materials we use in sustainability.
Are there different sizes for men and women?
Nope. Our sneakers are unisex and available from size 35-46. So far we haven't had any problems with sizes, so even though there is a difference between men's and women's sizing, it appears that the sizes work for either gender. You can check the size guide for an overview.
Why is the price of the shoes 950DKK/1100DKK (129€/148€)?
There are a few different factors determining the price. First of all, working with textile waste is a surprisingly labor intensive process, because we need to prepare all the textiles to fit in the factory's production methods. So compared to other shoe brands, we have a lot of work to do even before we start making the shoes.
Another factor that affects the price of the shoes is the fact that we are trying to make them as sustainable as possible. This means that all the input material is of the highest quality and lowest environmental impact, and which comes at a certain price.
Try our sneakers and you will see that they are worth it!
Are the shoes waterproof?
Our sneakers are made from textile waste such as old workwear or jeans, and as you can imagine (we have all walked in wet jeans), this type of textile is not water proof.
But the good news is, that you can make them a little water resistant! There is a simple method with beeswax.
How should I clean the shoes
The best way to clean the sneakers is with a damp cloth. We don't reccomend you to put them in a washing machine, but we also know that most people do that, so in case you want to try and wash them, make sure to take out the insole and put the heat on low. Parts of our shoes are biodegradable, under the right conditions, and you wouldn't want to create those conditions in your washing machine haha.
How can I dispose of the shoes?
Our shoes are made using the most sustainable materials possible, which means that to some extent they are biodegradable, however even though the shoes can be recycled, the current waste-disposal systems are not made to handle this. So, here are your options.
1) If your shoes get damaged, we would like to help and repair them.
2) In the case that they are damaged beyond repair, we would like to collect them through our take-back-programme and then you will get a discount to buy new ones.
We send the used shoes to our sole factory, who then make new soles out of them. VAER is commited to making a typically linear system circular, so if you can help us out and return the broken shoes, you will be contributing to a new way of production!
The brand
What is upcycling?
When you upcycle something, it means that you recycle it in such a way that the resulting product is of the same or a higher value than the original item. VAER upcycles old textile into sneakers.
So, upcycling is actually a form of recycling. But usually when we talk about recycling, we are talking about "downcycling", which is a process in which we treat the input material in a way that results in it having less value than the original item. An example of this is when textile waste is downcycled into insulation or cheap carpets for house renovations. When this happens, the textile is shredded into tiny pieces and has no resemblance to the original item.
What is the idea behind VAER?
Our founder Lili came up with the idea when she was studying at Brunel in London. VAER was actually her thesis project, and when she came back to Denmark she decided to start the company.
The reason why we are upcycling materials into shoes is because there is a huge problem with textile waste. One of our textile suppliers collect 40tons of textile waste every week in Copenhagen. And that is only one collection facility! The problem is that there is no good system for using all the wasted material. And upcycling is not a common practice when it comes to large scale production.
The main purpose of VAER is to find a scalable way to produce products cheaply, while using existing materials. This seems simple but is really quite a task. Finding ways to fit jeans and jackets into the machines in factories, requires quite a bit of creativity and work. But so far we can see that we are well on our way to achieve the goal of scalable textile upcycling!
What is your commitment towards sustainability?
VAER is commited to sustainability both in product and company. Our team consists of young, conscious minded individuals, who have sustainability as their number one priority both professionally and personally. So one could say that sustainability is at the core of everything we do.
You can read about the materials we use in our facts section here.
Do you do discounts?
Yes and no. We stand for sustainability. And usually sales drive over-consumption. So we stay away from seasonal sales and most importantly Black Friday. But from time to time we have some form of discount, but we think of it more as a nice thing to do for our customers rather than a strategy to drive large sales.