“To me being vegan means that with every bite of food that I take, I am making one tiny step of positive change,” says Alex Eaves owner of Stay Vocal.
Eaves is a dedicated vegan and former skateboarder. He was inspired to create his company Stay Vocal as a result of the work he did for the nonprofit group Anti-Racist Action (ARA) in which he contributed toward fundraising efforts by selling t-shirts with different slogans on it that spread messages about tolerance.
Today when Eaves is not touring with bands such as Green Day, Blink 182 and 311, he spends his time creating awesome t-shirts that are ‘Vocal’ about various social issues and educating the public about the importance of rescuing t-shirts that would have otherwise found their way to a landfill.
Eaves’s company created the t-shirt design for the first annual Berkeley Vegan Earth Day which will be held on April 22. He is also one of the featured panelists at the event.
Recently Alex Eaves was kind enough to answer a few questions.
What inspired you to become vegan?
I have always had a compassion for animals. I honestly can’t remember the last time I killed a bug. I originally became a vegetarian as a result of being on Ozzfest doing promotions and the meat was so bad. I was also traveling with a couple of vegetarians and decided to give it a try. Nine years later, I finally made that next step to a vegan diet because I wanted to further enhance my positive impact on animals, people and planet.
Can you tell me about your t-shirt company?
STAY VOCAL is a Green America certified ReUse apparel company. We rescue t-shirts and give them a second life.
About half of our apparel line is made from brand new t-shirts that were going to be destroyed. The other half of our apparel is found at thrift stores and through donations, allowing us to offer more unique items to our customers.
Our reusing doesn’t stop with the shirts that we sell. We reuse in any step that we can. Our orders are printed on the back of would be recycled paper, shipped in used packaging (mainly cereal boxes), with labels printed on scrap paper. Even our business cards are printed on used t-shirts and then cut out.
What inspired you to use reused t-shirts?
I was driven to start STAY VOCAL by my work with the nonprofit group Anti-Racist Action, as well as merchandising for numerous bands who are devoted to positivity and making this world a better place. I really enjoyed seeing their impact on people and how fans were inspired to do good things. And as time went on, I really thought that I could do something similar.
At the same time, I saw the mass production of new merchandise being made and learned disturbing facts about the garment industry. I named my company STAY VOCAL because too many people sit around and let things happen or just complain about the way things are, without ever doing anything about it. I wanted to start a project that encourages people to use the most important tool that they have when it comes to making change: their voice. I’m here to encourage people to make an easy positive change in a fun way.
Do you have a favorite t-shirt that you have made?
The Cereal Spill T-Shirt is definitely my favorite. Not only because I eat a lot of cereal, or because the design is awesome, but it epitomizes the concept of reuse with the shirt, packaging, and prize inside. http://shop.stayvocal.com/-REUSE-Cereal-Spill-T-Shirt-Prize-In-Every-Box-p29.html
Is there anything about the current fashion industry that turns your stomach?
Brands that sell brand new t-shirts that say “reuse” on them. Also, the mass production and destruction of shirts:http://www.stayvocal.com/where-did-all-the-shirts-go/
Do any of the t-shirts tell a story?
Oh definitely! The “What Do You Do?” T-Shirt is emblazoned with a patch that says, “I make the world better by (BLANK) what do you do?” The fill-in-the-blank design is for the owner to tell everyone what THEY are doing to make the world better. (Side note – this was featured on Good Morning America once!) http://shop.stayvocal.com/What-Do-You-Do-Patch-T-Shirt-p4.html
If I could visit your studio where you create your designs what would I see when I walk through the door, is there anything that would surprise me or catch me off guard?
Lots of ALF memorabilia… Yes, the 80′s TV Sitcom.
How has your sense of style evolved over the years?
As noted in my story (http://www.stayvocal.com/about/story/ ), I have always loved T-Shirts. So, keeping it related to that, I would say I went from wearing ones that fit to giant ones (the baggy skateboard days) back to ones that fit. Also, my shirt types have changed over time depending on what part of my life I was in: Sports to Skateboarding to Music to Stay Vocal. Also, I wear A LOT of orange.
What do you think about the current push to ‘Go Green’, do you feel most people really know what the term means or do you feel it’s more like a fashion trend that will eventually lose steam?
Personally, I try not to use the term “green” too much, because it is completely overused and the amount of green washing done these days is awful. People think because they have green in their name or the recycle logo as part of their logo that they’re making a difference. It’s not about talking, it’s about walking too. I try to push reuse, because the most eco friendly thing we can do is keep things out of the landfill and recycle bins and prevent new items from being made.
Do you have a favorite band you have toured with?
I could go on for a long time here, but I will stop myself short. 311 has been my favorite band since 1995, so being able to tour with them was pretty much a dream come true.
What’s in store for the future?
Definitely more with reuse than just STAY VOCAL, but you’ll just have to wait and see.
