We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Eaves. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

From 2000-2007, I was a merchandise manager for touring rock bands. I witnessed first-hand the mass production and, unfortunately, destruction of T-Shirts. I knew that I wanted to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. This led me to making my first large batch of reuse shirts and saving 144 garments from being destroyed. My brand and life would never be the same.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I actually started STAY VOCAL as a skateboard brand in 2003. At that time, I was working as a merchandise manager for numerous bands and organizations committed to making the world a better place. (Did you ever wonder what happens to merchandise that doesn’t sell or if a band breaks up? In most cases, it gets shredded into rags or burnt.) I saw this waste of resources, time and money as an opportunity and started rescuing these shirts and restyling them for my brand. In 2008, I made the complete switch and converted my brand into a reuse apparel brand.

I originally named the brand STAY VOCAL because of the unfortunate apathy that most people show when it comes to making positive change. I wanted to create a product line that is not only positive change in itself, but also encourages people to use the most important tool they have when it comes to making change: their voice. And just by choosing a reuse garment instead of a new one, they’re using their voice for positive change.

STAY VOCAL is now a certified green ReUse apparel brand. With strictly reuse apparel, we are doing something no other brand is doing. How many times do you see T-Shirts that say “reduce, reuse, recycle” and they’re printed on brand new shirts? About half of our apparel line is made from brand new T-Shirts that were going to be destroyed simply because of a misprint or over printing. The other half of our apparel is found at thrift stores and through donations, allowing us to offer more unique items.

We don’t just sell reuse shirts, though. We reuse in any step that we can. Orders are printed on the back of would be recycled paper, shipped in used packaging (mainly cereal boxes), with labels printed on scrap paper. And the brand doesn’t stop with us. Our collaborators and customers are our community; a community of reusers and overall do gooders who are trying to make the world a positive place for all of us.

As the brand owner, one of the things that I am most proud of is the fact that my brand and our community has helped save literally millions of gallons of water with our reuse shirts. National Geographic did a study and found that it takes 713 gallons of water to make just 1 new T-Shirt!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

When you need to buy anything, consider a used option. Reusing is one of the easiest and most effective things that we can do for our planet.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

By far, Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and “First Things First” are the two books that have made the most impact on my entrepreneurial and personal life. I cannot recommend them enough to everyone.

Contact Info:

• Website: stayvocal.com
• Instagram: @stayvocal
• Facebook: /stayvocalpage
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-bmJFgIJwQ&list=PLnap3pyIoL6M8ATd6Q8r3-vi2zi94RoV3