Stacey Politi ’02

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For Stacey Politi ’02, her company Eve’s Rib Clothing is a combination of two passions: fashion and helping women love their "impeccably imperfect" bodies. Recently featured in Redbook Magazine, Eve’s Rib Clothing donates a portion of its profits to the National Eating Disorders Association.

1. How did you turn your passion to promote a positive body image into a product?
When I started , I asked myself, "What would be the best way to get this message out?" I wanted to create a way that constantly would remind me to love my body. I wanted to walk down the street and remind other women to love their bodies too. T-shirts seemed to be a good place to start.

2. There are many T-shirt companies. How do you make Eve's Rib stand out?
There aren't enough T-shirt companies that promote positive messages; the majority of the shirts I see are about sleeping with your friend's boyfriend, your sister's boyfriend or Kevin Federline – not so much positivity there. Eve's Rib stands out because of its positive messaging alone, but also because we have such a large range of sizes and the issues we are raising are so current. Body image and eating disorders are everywhere, so the subjects are not only timely, but in LA, geographically appropriate.

3. Are you selling an idea or a product?
When I first started, my dream was to start a campaign, and I have. However, there is no way for me to continue to work on the campaign full time if I cannot support myself. That’s where the shirts come in, the product is a necessity. I'm selling a product and a feeling of self-worth and belonging, allowing girls and women to feel that they're helping each other while helping themselves.

4. Who are your customers, and how do you build your customer base?
My customers tend to be females between the ages of 18 and 30 and between the sizes of 0-30. At first, my customer base was just family and friends, but through word-of-mouth and marketing, I was able to build a large clientele.

5. How important is word-of-mouth to your sales? What other nontraditional marketing methods are you using to get your point across?
Word-of-mouth comes second only to the Internet. No matter how technology progresses, people are still more likely to buy the products their friends and families buy. Trying to keep costs down, I rack my brain for new ways to gain supporters. My nontraditional marketing methods have included speaking at schools about body image, having my friends – and fellow UCLA alumni – Raining Jane to wear my shirts on tour, plus buttons, stickers and most precious of all, MySpace. MySpace has allowed me to reach more customers than anything else so far.

6. Your price of $50 is high for a T-shirt. How do you balance the price tag with your need to compete?
In order to donate to the National Eating Disorders Association while remaining sweatshop free and high quality, we are forced to charge a bit more. Our short sleeves are $43 and our long sleeves $50. To help shoppers, we just came out with new $10 totes and $20 tanks. Our prices are definitely competitive with other T-shirt companies and often less expensive, but it's not so much the shirt we are selling as it is the message and a way for women to show their support for one another. It's better to spend 40 bucks on a shirt that makes you and others feel good than one that calls the person next to you stupid.

7. How has the National Eating Disorders Association used the proceeds from your sales?
The National Eating Disorders Association distributes the donations into many of its wonderful programs. Some of this money goes to public awareness and education projects, a toll-free information and referral hotline, print ad campaigns and Go Girls, a program that helps high school-aged girls build self-esteem.

8. What is your favorite T-shirt design and why?
I love the "Obsessing Over Pounds is For British Bankers" tee because I get such a great response from it, but I also love the design of the "Know Your Beauty" shirt. The words are positioned in such a way that they line the v-neck to look more like a lacy design and less like a font.

9. If you had the chance to relaunch your company, what would you do differently?
I would have partnered with somebody who has previous business experience. I studied history and comparative religion at UCLA, not exactly business-economics. I think that starting off with someone who knew what they were doing could have been useful.

10. What insights can you provide for someone who wants to sell to a boutique?
Have confidence in your product – talk to boutiques as if your product were the greatest of its kind, and believe it. I've lost more business because I was sheepish. When I feel good about myself and what I'm selling, I end up selling twice as much.