Interview with Sarah Krause from SOLAI Fashion
When Sarah Krause, passionate advocate for soil regeneration, founded Solai Fashion in 2018, she did it with the determination to prove that exciting, modern fashion could be climate-beneficial. We were super lucky she agreed to work with us at Pure London in 2019 where she debuted Bomler supply-chain transparency tags on Solai’s Spring 2019 collection.
This interview was conducted by Head of Marketing, Patrick Roth via email.
PATRICK ROTH: Hi, Sarah. What was your intention when you founded your company?
SARAH KRAUSE: Hello, Patrick. My main goal with SOLAI is to create beautiful clothing that goes beyond sustainability and instead has an actively positive impact on the environment. By collaborating with an amazing collective of Regenerative Farmers, ultimately we want to leave the land better off for having grown our fibres. It’s all about working in harmony with the nature, in order to sequester carbon, revive biodiversity and see the land visibly flourish. All while creating clothing that’s built to last and that people are excited to wear!
PATRICK ROTH: What does sustainability mean for you and your company?
SARAH KRAUSE: To me, ‘Sustainability’ ultimately means operating in a way that we could sustain indefinitely, without compromising the wellbeing of our planet or those who live on it. Which is of course an essential concept that we need to manifest as reality. But I feel that we can and should go further than that. I believe that we should strive towards a future in which we’re not simply a benign force on earth, but a crucially positive one.
PATRICK ROTH: Is the next wave of sustainable fashion all about regenerative farming?
SARAH KRAUSE: I think it will certainly play an important part, considering its effectiveness and how beautiful it is to see ourselves reconciling with nature. I also think innovative biotech, that has regenerative capabilities of its own kind, will likewise be pivotal!
PATRICK ROTH: What is regenerative farming?
SARAH KRAUSE: The image of a farm is probably not the first thing you think of when we you see the clothes hanging in your closet! But actually, they’re a lot more closely linked than you think. After all, every piece of cotton, linen, hemp etc. began its life on a farm, where clothing fibres are cultivated. At its core, Regenerative Farming is a manifestation of Indigenous Ecological knowledge, which is really the bedrock of this whole movement. This approach to farming seeks to work in harmony with nature in order to increase biodiversity, improve water retention, restore soil health & sequester carbon. Harnessing the soil’s ability to capture and store carbon is of course a central part of mitigating Climate Change, but all of these different elements play super important roles in restoring balance to our climate. This goes beyond mere ‘organic’ farming, although similarly no toxic chemicals are used. The specific farming practices will depend on the region and local ecosystem, but some key methods include composting, cover crops, crop rotation and no till.
PATRICK ROTH: What sustainability challenges does your organization face?
SARAH KRAUSE: Finding suppliers that truly align with our values is always tricky, as sometimes the kinds of fabrics we want to work with don’t fully meet our environmental/ethical standards. That means that creatively, there are limitations from time to time. But these limitations are lessening now with the increased range of suppliers that are prioritising sustainable practices.