Kira Stackhouse: Founder of Scutte

Pet parents are finding more and more ways to go green in their lives–and the lives of their dogs–these days. Now dog lovers have a green option when it comes to dog clothing as well, thanks to San Francisco-based Scutte. This pet clothing company creates stylish dog clothes from vintage clothes. The result is dog clothing that’s not just green but one of a kind. Recently DogTipper.com caught up with Scutte founder Kira Stackhouse to talk about this eco-friendly company and its recent partnership that’s helping senior dogs find new homes.

Can you tell us about your background and how you first came to work with dogs?

My background is in graphic/web design, retail/visual merchandising and marketing. In addition to Scutte, I’m also a photographer! I shoot people (www.nuena.com) and pets (www.fetchfotosf.com)! I came to work with dogs specifically when I launched my photography business 2 years ago – at the time I had 3 cats and a tank full of fish. I’ve have had various pets throughout my whole life including frogs, fish, hermit crabs, hamsters and cats, but never had a dog. I got my first puppy on New Year’s Day 2009!

What can you tell us about Scutte’s products?

Scutte (pronounced “scoot”) is a new pet clothing company aimed to offer products that are both stylish and functional. It was born out of the need to find simple, everyday casual clothing for my puppy…. not the novelty, cute and adorable stuff with ribbons, bows and studs. Scutte clothing is simple and classic. We pride ourselves on offering clothes that are so fashionable that even humans would wear them (and they did)!

All of the products are made from vintage materials, and the designs themselves are in what we find – they’re not created from scratch. Product wise, we offer casual clothing like tshirts, sweats (sweatshirts, hoodies), accessories and toys. Every single item is handmade and one of a kind! We sell our products on our website at www.scutte.com as well as in retailers around the country.

Scutte utilizes recycled clothes for its products. Can you tell us more about Scutte’s environmental and social responsibility efforts?

We believe that as a business, it’s our responsibility to operate as green as possible. Although it’s not always obvious, businesses are really the leaders in the environmental movement – people buy products and many a time, the products that they buy aren’t made responsibly. But by making an effort to stay as sustainable as possible, we’re not only doing a favor for the environment but we’re setting a good example for other businesses. Operating a green business isn’t as hard as people may think – and what people don’t realize is that you don’t have to sacrifice style and quality to be green.

We also believe that running a business is good – but what makes it great is being able to give back

to the community and share our success by helping out organizations that are doing good work. It’s

all about getting back down to ground level and connecting with the people who are really making a

difference.

Scutte recently partnered with Muttville. Can you tell us more about that partnership?

Scutte is very happy to be partnered with Muttville, a San Francisco-based senior dog rescue. When Scutte was still an idea – we knew we wanted to partner with a nonprofit – or even rotate nonprofits – but when we came across Muttville, we knew we had found the perfect fit. Just as Scutte rescues old unwanted clothing and turns them into new cool products, Muttville rescues all of the old dogs that get left behind.

Muttville is a very special organization, and its mission to rescue, give hospice and find loving homes for senior dogs is unlike many of the rescues currently out there, since most rescues will turn away or euthanize older dogs because they believe the dogs are not adoptable. Scutte uses all of the Muttville dogs as doggie models for the Scutte clothes, and all of the dogs on the website or in marketing materials are either available for adoption or have found a new home through Muttville.

What else would you like the readers of DogTipper.com to know about your work?

Scutte clothes fit dogs from 2 to 40lbs. We are working on a line for larger dogs.

We also do custom clothes! We are happy to transform your old favorite tshirt into a brand new hip item for your dog. Visit our website to get more info about submission and art guidelines.

For More Information:

• website: www.scutte.com
• phone: 415-624-9317
• email: info@scutte.com
• Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/scutte
• Facebook Fan Page

Photos courtesy Scutte.com

About Paris Permenter and John Bigley

DogTipper publishers Paris Permenter and John Bigley are a husband-wife team of full-time writers. The couple has authored over two dozen books and 2,500+ magazine articles.

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