Eartheia is an online marketplace for vegan certified products including affordable fashion & beauty. I came up with the idea for the business whilst at Nottingham Trent University after drafting the full business plan as part of my dissertation.
During lockdown, the business was set up and continued to grow. The website hosts a range of quality, verified vegan products, all of which have had rigorous background checks to ensure that all brands are vegan certified and have had their organisation’s sustainability efforts taken into account.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Sustainability is a key part of who I am. I have been passionate about it for so long. I remember in secondary school I was titled “earth hour girl” after bringing my passions for sustainability to the school board for everyone to get involved with.
The reason I went vegan in the first place was because I learnt that it was the number one thing you can do to significantly reduce your environmental impact. Therefore, it was integral for me to learn more about sustainable and transparent supply chains which is where the idea for Eartheia developed. If I can help people by spotlighting some of the most sustainable products out there then I’ve done my job.
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How has the company utilised technology during the pandemic?
Eartheia was born online so we’ve had to continue to evolve and adapt as demand has grown and website traffic has increased. I’ve watched Youtube tutorials to learn about managing a growing website and had to take things in my stride as we’ve gone from strength to strength.
We’ve utilised social media when it comes to marketing as that’s logical for someone at my age (23) to do. People my age are accustomed to using Instagram and TikTok and I thought it made sense to showcase my business on there because of the amount of Gen Z’s, many of which are vegan, who are using the platform.
I understand how I can relate and communicate to other people my age which is something some of the brands using Eartheia have struggled with in the past. For example, I promoted a vegan cosmetic client on TikTok, which went viral, causing an upsurge in sales – when I informed the client about why their sales will have increased, they responded by saying “we don’t use TikTok, our customers aren’t on there” which made me laugh.
I think more and more businesses will utilise technology and implement the kind of strategies that I have though – a Gen Z study by WP Engine found that 66% of Gen Z plan to start a business in the future, so they’ll be more business leaders my age who are naturally accustomed to technology and social media.
What can we hope to see from Eartheia in the future?
As we continue to grow, we’re expanding our selection of vegan products on the website and developing relationships with key brands within the sustainability industry. We have also developed our own in-house clothing line.
Every piece of clothing is Peta certified vegan, and uses water-based vegan inks. They are also carbon neutral and GOTS certified. Our clothing tags are plantable and grow wildflowers whilst our mailer bags are also vegan because they’re plastic-free, compostable and use water-based inks. The clothing range is couriered with DHL’s carbon-neutral shipping plan.
