Autonomie Project was a

fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...

, eco-friendly, and vegan fashion company based out of Boston, MA, in the United States. The company began in 2007 when group of friends who were frustrated with the fashion and footwear industries due to their lack of transparency and use of sweatshops and harmful chemicals. Autonomie Project produced shoes, flip flops, hand bags, T-shirts, winter hats and accessories. They worked with small, independent cooperatives and fair trade certified facilities located in developing areas of the world including Pakistan,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Peru, and the US. As well as being fair trade certified, the company used

eco-friendly products Sustainability, Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and Natural environment, environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials ...

as much as possible such as

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

cottons and Forest Stewardship Council certified sustainable all natural rubber. Autonomie Project certified all products and materials all the way down the supply chain were vegan, produced by fair trade standards, and were

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

. Autonomie Project is a

Co-op America Green America (known as Co-op America until January 1, 2009) is a nonprofit membership organization based in the United States that promotes environmentally aware, ethical consumerism. Founded in 1982, by Paul Freundlich, Green America states that ...

certified green business and their sneakers were given an A-plus in Co-op America's Back to School Shoe Guide. The company was involved in fair trade initiatives through the Talon Workers' Welfare Fund. They also work closely with

Trees for the Future Trees for the Future (abbreviated sometimes as TREES) is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded on August 14, 1989, that trains farmers around the world in agroforestry and sustainable land use. TREES provides technical assistance wit ...

and The Haitian Project. Both the

sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

and

flip flops Flip-flops are a type of light sandal, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around both side ...

produced by Autonomie Project have received positive reviews from Life Goggles and Leafy Green Info. Autonomie Project also keeps up a blog on Wordpress.com where they discuss

and environmental issues as well as current events and vegan recipes.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20080914211632/http://www.autonomieproject.com:80/?
Autonomie Project's BlogInterview with Autonomie Project founders on CTN
Companies based in Massachusetts