Ciara Peter is the fashion-forward mastermind behind animalfriendlyshopping.com. The site was founded in 2009 as a style and shopping resource for people looking to minimize or eliminate animal-based products in their wardrobes and beauty repertoires. The site features products from vegan retailers, as well as cruelty-free items from non-vegan companies. Read on to learn more about what inspired Ciara to create animalfriendlyshoping.com, her thoughts on the growth of the green fashion industry, and to get her take on eco fashion. Read the full interview Monday, 11/15, on GoVeeBlog.com.
How did you come up with the concept for animalfriendlyshopping.com?
About two years ago, I really started questioning the hypocrisy of my eating vegetarian, supposedly caring about animals, but still wearing their skin and eating their by-products. I was one of the millions of people who just assumed that leather was a byproduct of the meat industry and acted in a manner that reflected this until I learned otherwise. So I decided to start looking for non-leather alternatives for shoes and other fashion items, and had an incredibly difficult time finding animal-free options that fit my trendy, career-forward style. It’s not that the products didn’t exist, they were just not being promoted and there definitely wasn’t one central place where I could go to find fashion-forward, animal friendly items. I figured there’s no way I could be the only one facing this challenge, so I made it my mission to provide a resource where people could find a wide variety of fashionable, ethical clothing, shoes, and beauty products. I also wanted to make the site approachable enough that non-vegans/non-vegetarians could use it without hearing heavy political viewpoints or feeling alienated.
What is the mission of the site, and how does your content achieve it?
The primary mission of animalfriendlyshopping.com is to show people that it’s easy to live a cruelty-free lifestyle. I try to promote designers that are easily accessible and create trendy, fashion-forward designs that don’t fit the mold of stereotypical eco or vegan fashion. I want the person who shops at Nordstrom, for example, to say “Hey, I can wear a non-leather version of this shoe and still look hot.” I do this by promoting high-end vegan designers, but also promoting non-vegan companies when they make animal friendly products. By letting people know “this mainstream brand is more animal friendly than this other,” I hope to start shifting the tides and creating demand for cruelty-free products.
This seems a pretty exhaustive resource--how do you gather your information?
Facebook and Twitter have been incredible resources for me. Whenever I learn about a new blog or designer, I follow them on all of the social networks, and subscribe to any email lists I can. I think it’s important to stay current not only on vegan fashion, but animal issues, green fashion, green anything, and mainstream beauty and fashion as well. Local fashion shows and indie design festivals are also a great way to learn about new designers and fashion trends.
Who are some of your favorite green designers, local and non?
For coats, I love Vaute Couture. The attention to detail, innovative materials, and quality of production have proven well worth the investment. I bought my first Vaute coat last year, a feminine peacoat and can’t wait to receive my sporty new Kinder soon. I’m really excited to see Vaute Couture’s product line expand into more tees, dresses, and accessories as well. Olsen Haus is my favorite shoe brand. The styles are so bold, edgy, trendy, but classy and high end. There’s nothing hippy dippy about these eco-friendly shoes, they are just HOT! Matt & Nat is my favorite green bag line. Every bag is made from at least one recycled element and the lining is made from an average of 21 recycled bottles. Their bags are the most realistic looking and high-end of the vegan bag brands.
Are you optimistic about the growth of the green fashion industry?
Absolutely! I think designers are realizing that green fashion can be profitable. Also, the more we innovate, the less expensive it will be to create green technology and materials used in creation of green fashion and beauty products. Fashion events like GreenShows and the San Francisco Vegan Fashion Show are great indicators that the demand for green fashion is growing.
Is publishing AFS your only project? What else do you do?
I actually work full-time in product strategy and design at salesforce.com here in San Francisco. It’s a really cool career because it allows me to be creative, geek out, and build technology that makes peoples’ lives easier. I occasionally take on freelance writing and creative direction projects, but between Salesforce and AFS, I’m pretty booked, so I mostly just focus on these two projects. I hope to pursue more projects in the vegan and green fashion industry in the next few years.
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