Episode 003 – Inclusive + Sustainable Clothing with Sotela

In episode of our podcast, The Heart-led Brand, we’re chatting with Hanna Baror-Padilla of Sotela!

Sotela is an ethical, inclusive, and sustainable fashion line designed for all humans. Since launching in 2016, they’ve deepened their commitment to inclusivity for all body types and genders by expanding their size range and offering custom sizing. All Sotela pieces are designed, cut and sewn at their LA studio where they are able to ensure a sustainable supply system leaves a minimal footprint and pays fair, living wage to all of their employees.

Episode Highlights:

On how Hanna pivoted from a career as an urban planner to becoming a fashion brand founder:

“I really was interested in the nonprofit space in college and so that’s what I thought I would end up doing. […] So I got a job in transportation planning and I even have my notebooks from when I was working there full-time. I have all these drawings of dresses on the sides of the notepad that I would take to go to meetings and not pay attention because I’d be drawing all these little dresses and shirts. I did that for a couple years after grad school and I stayed in it knowing that it wasn’t for me just because I wanted to pay off my loan and I needed to have the full-time salary. And maybe it was a couple years into it, I got into fashion. I started a blog and it had nothing to do with sustainability. I didn’t know that existed. […] And after a couple months of doing that, I just thought it was so pointless. It’s like, am I asking people to really go out and buy these same clothes that are $5? It just didn’t make sense to me and I started googling sustainability and fashion. Because I thought maybe there was a way that I could bring in the love the nonprofit world that I had in college and merge that with fashion. […]

So then I looked into sustainable fashions brands and at the same time, I was going through a hormone imbalance and really bad bloating for like 7 months. […] And so as I went through a bunch of different alternative treatments, I also had to buy a whole new wardrobe so that I could just go to work. And it was hard getting dressed in the mornings! […] So that’s when I had the idea of Sotela and merging it with my love for sustainable fashion. I knew that if I had such a hard time that fit my body as it went through all these changes, then I’m sure other people do.”

On how Sotela prioritizes inclusive sizing in their clothing line and why Hanna thinks other brands should too:

“Inclusivity has always been important to us. […] In our first launch, I wanted to show that there are different body types even though we only had that very limited size run. From then on, we’ve always made it important to expand our sizing. The first 2 years, it wasn’t a possibility for us. We were so small […] and doing small batch inventory. It wasn’t until we became a made to order company that we pivoted and were able to expand and double our size range. Now our size range is 0-30. And it was important to us because the majority of American women are in the plus size range. I wanted to cater to a larger market. I wanted to cater to people that actually wanted to wear clothing that wasn’t accessible to them.

I believe the reason why true inclusivity isn’t happening in the industry is… I honestly think it’s fatphobia. I believe that a lot of brands just want to keep being exclusive and they don’t want to line their brand with the plus size market. Because the numbers are out there! There are people in the plus size range that want to shop and want to wear clothing that straight-size people can wear. So I don’t really think that there’s more to it than that. I know there are small brands that can’t afford it because they have inventory and they don’t want to create extra inventory that they then have to sell at a steep discount. BUT I believe there are ways around it that are possible! I was extremely small when I did my expanded size range. I wasn’t paying myself at the time and it took my at least 2 collections to pay off what I spent on that initial plus size expansion. But it’s an investment that you make in your business knowing that it will pay off and it does!”

On what positive changes Hanna hopes to see in the fashion industry:

“I hope that there is a resurgence of timeless clothing that isn’t based on a really quick fashion trend. With Tiktok, I see just trends happening on a weekly basis and that’s really unsustainable. […] I hope that sustainable fashion continues to become more mainstream. I know that it’s made huge strides since I started in 2016. When I first started there were like 3 brands and there weren’t a lot of options. It’s been cool to see how many have popped up. I hope that brands don’t just use sustainability as a marketing tactic and I hope that they are actually making the correct steps to be sustainable or inclusive instead of using it to sell more.”

You can follow Sotela on Instagram @sotelaco and check out their latest collection on their website!