How Plant Faced Clothing Is Redefining Vegan Streetwear
In this sustainable founder Q&A series, we catch up with Charlie McEvoy, the founder of the ultra-cool vegan streetwear brand Plant Faced Clothing. We discuss the inspiration behind the brand’s cool designs, how they stay true to their mission, and how being vegan has impacted their life.
Hello! Can you tell us about yourself and the brand you run?
A New Zealand native, entrepreneur, designer, vegan food fanatic and world traveler. I am the founder of Plant Faced Clothing, a vegan streetwear apparel brand. I am passionate about fashion, design, food, wellness, personal growth, and growth in an entrepreneurial setting.
Plant Faced Clothing is an ethical clothing brand which holds the core value of ‘no exploitation – humans, animals, or plants’.
The core idea of the brand is to spread the cruelty-free message with awesome designs in a way that’s unique and subtle, using garments that are ethically made, using conscious fabrics and printing methods.
“Plant Faced Clothing is an ethical clothing brand which holds the core value of ‘no exploitation – humans, animals, or plants’.”
What inspired you to start Plant Faced?
I sort of always had an entrepreneurial spirit and was always on the lookout for inspiration and ideas.
Anyway I had recently turned plant based and wanted a way to spread this message/plant seeds for other people in a way that wasn’t too in your face, or screaming the word “vegan”; I was particularly into streetwear and I just couldn’t find anything on the market with the kind of style I wanted to wear.
My background is in graphic design and I had a passion for fashion so this lightbulb sort of went off that it was the perfect marriage.
Where do you get the inspiration behind your designs?
I love to travel and do so frequently so I think this brings a big source of inspiration — being exposed to so many new perspectives both visually and mentally. As well as this I like to stay in touch with the fashion, art and design world, always saving things I like which helps me to piece together and spark ideas.
In your eyes, what’s the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your business journey?
Resilience — it takes a lot of grit to carry on as a business owner even through all the obstacles and struggles, the biggest challenge and really lesson overall has been finding persistence even when things don’t seem to be going the way you want them to.
You just have to get good enough at reminding yourself of the bigger picture and keeping a positive outlook that if you keep on pushing through then it will eventually pay off.
“The biggest challenge and really lesson overall has been finding persistence even when things don’t seem to be going the way you want them to.”
How do you ensure your company stays true to your mission as you grow?
By always staying true to our values such as only choosing ethically made garments, trying to choose sustainable fabrics whenever possible (e.g. organic, recycled, etc), using water based inks, and of course, everything vegan.
Some extra little ways I try to ensure our company stays true to the mission are spreading the plant based message via our channels, whether that be through informational posts, memes or inspiring stories. And thinking about the extra details such as all our packaging — ensuring this is all eco-friendly so no plastic on anything that touches our products
How has being vegan impacted your life?
So many ways — the best one being that I don’t have to feel guilty about any meal I ate having harmed any animals. But as well as that, it definitely gave me a love for food and cooking that was unlike anything I’d had before going vegan — it makes the whole experience so much more exciting and creative.
It also has connected me with so many new people I may not have otherwise just through being in this community of like-minded people, and of course, it even informed my career trajectory!
“Being Vegan has connected me with so many new people I may not have otherwise just through being in this community of like-minded people, and of course, it even informed my career trajectory!”
Do you have a favorite piece from the new Plant Faced Collection?
I think our new Oat Is The Goat hoodies are super fun!
Have you tried a product from another sustainable brand that you love?
I am obsessed with the bamboo underwear by Boody — soo comfortable and long lasting!
What does the future look like for your brand?
To keep getting better and better at what we do; bringing out more awesome new designs and products, cool content and just generally doing cool things in the plant based world.
If you enjoyed the behind the scenes look at Plant Faced Clothing, make sure you check out our other founder series with bother great vegan brands like Votch, Terra Thread, and Valani.
