Sowvital Says Plants Need Pampering Too
Jack Lewis likes to get dirty.
Soil science is the topic of choice for the former lawyer, who launched plant care line Sowvital after rediscovering his passion for plants during the pandemic. Speaking to him about dirt is a masterclass in minerals, microbes and all the exciting stuff that happens unseen to the naked eye.
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“Plants often get sidelined as ornaments,” Lewis says. “But these are living things that if you were to look under a microscope are furiously forming new cell walls, fighting off infections in their stems and their leaves, racing to produce new chlorophyll molecules. They’re very much alive and doing things and creating vibrational energy.”
It would all sound very New Age-y if it weren’t backed by science. Lewis studied the sound of plants, and discovered they can emit different tones depending on their hydration levels.
As people spent more time surrounded by plants, they became aware of the life cycles, subtle movements and energies of these “ornaments” and started to see them as the living, breathing beings they are. Wilting leaves caused newfound concern; shiny sprouts became a source of pride. They were a way to connect with nature, and something to nurture.
“The idea of nurturing is very deep in humans. People spending time at home were seeing their plants properly for the first time. They started to notice all sorts of patterns in the way the sunlight comes through and really experiencing something that they hadn’t before,” Lewis says.
He encourages people to think of plants more like little pets. Just as we would give our four-legged friends the best food, vitamins and supplements we are able to, plants need the same kind of care. After all, they’re domesticated too. We’ve taken them out of their natural environments, bred them, and put them in tiny terra cotta cages.
Lewis created the three-step program that’s akin to skin care for plants, from the cleansing stage through hydrating, with a dash of vitamins to keep the internal systems at peak performance.
“Skin care holds itself to such a high standard that is not tested on animals, using ingredients that are sourced sustainably, most cosmetics now are free from parabens. I want that level of attention to detail with our formulations. I want to lead the way,” he says, advocating for changing the plant care industry from the ground up.
Much of the home plant care segment is dominated by just a handful of major corporations, which use the runoff from industrial farming including chicken guano and fish bone and blood, as the basis for their fertilizer. Making sure Sowvital’s formula did not support the factory farming industry was important to Lewis. All of the Sowvital products are animal free and certified vegan.
“So we are tapping into some really cutting-edge ingredients that aren’t often available to consumers,” he says.
He enlisted the top farm and soil scientists in the U.K. at the research stage, and followed up his formulations with studies at Bath University to test chlorophyll density, cell wall thickness and mitochondrial function against standard fertilizers.
The search for new sources of key minerals led him to the new frontier of urban mining. Many of the minerals like zinc and manganese for Sowvital’s formulations come from recycled batteries and electronics, keeping them out of landfill through E.U.-certified organizations. The process curbs waste and keeps the company’s carbon footprint small.
Nurturing plants is a lifelong love for Lewis, who played with seed trays and sold cuttings to his neighbors as a child. Practicality took over when he studied law at Cambridge and took a job at a big firm in London’s city, but during the pandemic his passion for plants finally won out when he noted there were no educational or inspiring plant care products.
One of his newfound missions is to pass all that information on to customers, who might think the basics — water and sun — are all that is needed for a plant to thrive. That’s why the website is billed as a “community for plant lovers” instead of just a place to purchase. He spends time chatting with customers at his shop in Paris’ Le Bon Marché (it’s available through Goop in the U.S.) because he wants to create a close connection. Send him photos; he genuinely wants to know how your plants are doing.
He’s working on an illustrated book with tips on plant care slated for later this year, as well as preparing to launch a new prebiotic product to support soil health.
“As we look much more for meaningful objects in our homes, you can’t get more meaningful than something that you’ve literally nurtured and grown yourself,” Lewis says. “A plant is part of an interior story and part of what a home represents. It makes it a place of nurturing, and it’s something that’s fundamentally good for the world, as opposed to just more stuff. We can fill our homes with more plants and less stuff that ultimately goes out of fashion.
“If someone has had a plant for 10 years, or helped it grow from a small size to a large size, for me, that’s a way cooler marker of status in the home than having the latest Loewe candle. If you have a white night philodendron that is thriving, that’s so cool.”
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