"Hardly any sustainable clothing alternatives for riders"
"That's when I noticed that there were hardly any sustainable clothing alternatives for riders," says Isabel Salecker, founder of VorReiter, about her attempt to equip herself with sustainable riding fashion in 2018. Salecker has been enthusiastic about equestrian sports since kindergarten age and has a special connection to social justice, among other things, due to her ethnology studies.
3 Aug 2023Share
It was therefore quickly clear for her: "I want to bring sustainable and fairly produced riding fashion to the market."
She has specialized in clothing for the equestrian discipline of working equitation, in which she herself also participates in tournaments. Her product portfolio is therefore initially limited to the corresponding fashion for the riders* as well as saddle blankets. "After a lot of research and experience, I was able to find two sewing factories that met my requirements in terms of sustainability and working conditions," explains Isabel Salecker. Therefore, with Portugal and Poland, European production sites were deliberately chosen, because this way Salecker can guarantee fair working conditions with a clear conscience and the short delivery routes also meet the sustainability requirements. In addition, the young entrepreneur refrains from using materials such as polyester. "In the future, I would like to produce even more sustainably and replace the conventional cotton used so far with organic cotton," explains Isabel Salecker.
So far, VorReiter is a one-woman show that occasionally cooperates with freelancers from the fields of fashion design and marketing. Salecker remembers her first sale well: "It was really a surreal feeling! I was very happy to see first successes after all the hard work." In the meantime, significantly more riding enthusiasts have already become aware of the sustainable riding fashion. "Important marketing tools for the equestrian industry are, in addition to the online presence and the exhibition at horse shows, especially the participation in trade fairs," reports Isabel Salecker. It so happens that she will be exhibiting her products at the upcoming Pferd & Jagd in Hanover together with Greenvillage, an association of sustainable start-ups from the equestrian industry, which Salecker has joined.
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