Hello there! I’m Taija, the founder of Zoe Elle Collective. The fashion and beauty spaces have always fascinated me but in 2012, fresh out of college, I unexpectedly became a technology influencer in Baltimore. In that position, I quickly realized that if I didn’t capitalize on the growing demand for my influence, bigger brands would. So I made it my mission to learn how deals were negotiated, developed, and deployed from inside some of the world’s largest companies. And over my career I brokered small to large multi-million dollar negotiations on behalf of Fortune 500 companies such as Dropbox, Marriott Int’l, and AOPA, among others.
Then the debilitating burnouts came and I was forced to reevaluate my passion for my career. I soon realized that my first love wasn’t in creating project plans for big conglomerates, so I traded in my constant need to climb the corporate ladder, pull all nighters, and live on coffee binges for a more sustainable life.
Zoe Elle Co is an editorial first collective that covers the sustainable brand owners who continue to inspire my personal path towards a zero waste lifestyle. Each and every founder that we cover is transforming the fashion and beauty spaces through their personal journeys of entrepreneurship, mindfulness, sustainability and equality.
Sustainability may be in Vogue, but that’s because we’ve made it that way. Bold and beautiful rebels with a cause, our community uses it’s voice to show the industry that we want to forge a transformative culture founded on protecting the planet against the negative effects of overconsumption. We’re unwilling to stand-in with the crowd or pay low prices just to stay on this week’s trend. We’re savvy brand owners that authentically champion all of the beautiful qualities that comprise us: vegan, cruelty-free, woman-owned, ethically sourced and sustainably made.
“Sustainability is very much in vogue — at least in the corporate lexicon. High-end fashion and fragrance companies used the words “sustainable” or “sustainability” at least once every four pages in their 2018 annual reports, according to a Vogue Business analysis of the financial documents released by ten industry giants.”
Nothing makes us prouder than supporting the women behind our favorite sustainable brands on the rise.
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