Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Peraza O’Quigley.
Monica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2019 alegreea.com’s Monica Peraza O-Quigley and Faire. Shop CEO, Sydney Sherman decided to create The Etho. alegreea.com removed geographical barriers for female Designers by educating them about design and pricing and connecting them to conscious consumers through an online marketplace while Faire’s mission was to change the way we respond to global poverty by providing 100% vetted, ethically sourced goods through a technology-focused platform. At The Etho, alegreea became The Curated, an elevated shopping experience for the discerning consumer who is motivated to further the cause of its women Designers. The Etho Marketplace represents Faire’s technology platform where Designers self onboard, drop-ship their products and have access to an array of SaaS products designed to make growing their businesses easy.
As The Etho rebranded and launched in August 2019, critical roles were defined and the team has grown to include CRO, COO, CTO, and support staff to put the structure in place to allow for significant fast growth over the first two years.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
On the surface, The Etho is an online marketplace for highly curated, ethically-made goods from international Artisans and high-end Designers. With every purchase, our customers become part of these Designers’ journey to a better life, but The Etho does so much more than sell products. By providing The Etho Designers with cutting edge technology, marketing support, and entry to the modern online market, The Etho promotes female entrepreneurship and empowers female-focused communities around the world.
The Etho’s mission is to become the first global technology platform built for ethical female Designers by providing business resources, fair pricing and market access for their unique and curated products. The Etho believes it is stronger together because it has now combined the technology platform, SaaS products, and verification process from Faire with The Curated philosophy, brand relationships, and logistics process from alegreea.
The ethical space includes but is not limited to, sustainable, artisan-made, handmade, and organic products. All of these categories are subsets of ethical, which The Etho defines as paying fair wages, having safe working conditions for workers and/or being environmentally sustainable, but they are not synonymous. Although the Etho is a Tribe of Women from all over the world, The Etho welcomes all allies that believe in equality, empowering women and paying fair wages. With a goal to connect 100 million women to the platform by 2030, The Etho vision is to eradicate extreme poverty.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
For consumers looking to live a sustainable and ethical lifestyle, The Etho provides a one-stop online shop of highly curated products for every facet of life. By connecting consumers with women-led brands, The Etho makes a positive difference on both sides of its platform. Additionally, our business support software for Designers empowers female entrepreneurs to manage and scale every aspect of their business. Because we are intensely focused on respecting Mother Nature and making sustainable living an easy choice, we vet every vendor on our site according to wages, working conditions, and environmental sustainability. Ethical shopping and selling made easy.
Why The Etho, Why Now?
Globally, women control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, representing one of the largest investment opportunities in our lifetime. At the same time, the global Ethical market is worth $800 billion and expected to grow to over $12 trillion by 2030. Combined, these two factors mean that now is the time to invest in both women and ethical consumption. Additionally, there are 80 million Millennials in the US spending $600 billion annually (28% of all daily per-person consumer spending) and they shop by values.
More than ever, consumers are asking for ethical products, yet there is no comprehensive marketplace for these goods. The Etho was created as The Ethical + Eco-Friendly solution, by vetting each brand on our site according to our ethical verification standards, the Etho provides an easy solution to consumers looking to live a sustainable lifestyle.
Ethical + Ecological = The Etho
What were you like growing up?
When I was growing up, I was a very active child with a big imagination and kind of a tomboy! I dearly loved riding my horse at our weekend home, and my bike in the city. I started my first business when I was seven years old as I decided to make plastic bracelets filled with colored water and sell them. My favorite games were setting up my own shop and selling my products and also to play “school” where I was always the teacher. Everyone that knew me from my childhood said that I was unstoppable.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3736 Bee Caves Rd, Suite 1-156, Austin TX
- Website: https://theetho.com
- Phone: 855.540.5286
- Email: info@theetho.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
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Image Credit:
The Etho for commercial use.
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