Lin Merage founded Solne Collections in 2004 with the hopes that she could introduce consumers to sustainable, eco-friendly design through clothing, household items, and home improvement materials. As CEO of Solne, Ms. Merage believes in the importance of charitable contributions to organizations that support the mission of her company. In the spirit of green living and with the belief that someday, fashion will catch up with eco-friendly movements around the world, Lin Merage is a contributor to The Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry. The center is part of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment and supported in part through several colleges on the University of California, Berkeley, campus.

The Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry strives to advance scientific discovery in its field through a dedicated academic program that links the schools of law, business, engineering, environment, and public health. Each day, the United States uses tens of billions of pounds of chemical substances in order to manufacture materials and products for consumers. We find many of these substances in our everyday lives; however, it is unclear how the methods used to create these products, or even the products themselves, affect our environment or our health, because of a lack of data on potential toxicities. While it will take an unprecedented research effort to discover methods for sustainable chemistry, The Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry believes that with the aid of contributors like Lin Merage, it can help find ways that are less stressful on the environment for the manufacturing industry to produce goods.

In order to discover and create sustainable methods for production in the United States, the center currently is working toward three goals. First, it seeks to integrate chemistry with environmental health sciences and the study of governance to create an interdisciplinary educational program. Second, the center wants to develop new approaches in chemistry that lead to novel changes within the industry. Third, it hopes to launch an independent program of engagement that speaks to industry and thought leaders on the way green chemistry, and by extension green science, can create a safer, healthier world.