We love making clothes, but we do not want to contribute to the incredible amount of toxic waste produced by the textile industry. Instead, we want to contribute in every way possible to the greening of the textile industry, and the growing awareness of our ecological responsibility on this planet. We encourage our customers to “wear with awareness.”

Alchemy uses only environmentally friendly, sustainable fabrics: Recycled Indian Saris, Organic Cotton, and Lyocell “eco-rayon”. With all our fabrics, we use only AZO free dyes and non-toxic biodegradable softeners - these have the lowest possible impact on the environment.

LYOCELL:
This SITARA (”morning star”) line is made from buttery-soft lyocell fabric blended with 5% lycra. Lyocell is known as “eco-rayon” because it is a sustainable, environmentally friendly fabric. It is made from wood pulp cellulose that is sourced from fast-growing beech & eucalyptus trees, grown on sustainable tree farms. Its production does not involve the harsh chemical baths (used to break down the fibres) and bi-products of regular rayon. Instead, lyocell is made in a closed loop process where 99% of the biodegradable dissolving agent (amine oxide) is recovered and recycled into the next batch, thus conserving water and greatly reducing waste. Lyocell luxuriously drapes on the body and is machine washable. It is great for travel.

BAMBOO:
Our latest fabric is a custom blend of 47% bamboo mixed with 47% organic cotton and 6% lycra. Bamboo fibres make this fabric exceptionally soft, also making it “breathe” very well - bamboo wicks moisture naturally away from the skin. The benefits of Bamboo: *Bamboo is a fast-growing, drought and flood-resistant grass that does not require the use of any pesticides or herbicides. *Growing bamboo improves soil quality and helps rebuild eroded soil. *Bamboo plants absorb about 5 times the amount of carbon dioxide and produce about 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. *The bamboo we us is processed in the same eco-friendly manner as our lyocell - in a closed-loop system using a bio-degradable solution.

ORGANIC COTTON:
Our organic cotton is certified by the Control Union, an international, independent inspection and certification agency operating in Europe & Asia.

Conventional Cotton Facts:
*The conventional cotton crop uses 25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of its pesticides!
*The average non-organic t-shirt would require the use of 1/3 pounds of chemicals and 400 gallons of water!
*Most conventional cotton fabrics are bleached white with chlorine, treated with chemical flame-retardants and even rendered wrinkle proof by the use of formaldehyde.
*According the World Health Organization (WHO), 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of these from cotton farming.

The Benefits of Organic Cotton:
* Organic cotton does not use genetically modified seeds.
* Organic cotton doesn’t use pesticides, fungicides or herbicides.
* Organic farming techniques promote a healthy ecosystem as a whole. Frequent crop rotations and cover crop strategies replace synthetic fertilizers to keep the soil healthy and productive.
* Soil of organic cotton has an increase in organic matter, which retains more moisture, that means using less water.
*Organic farming emits about half the amount of CO2 produced by mainstream methods.
*Organic cotton employs more people as it takes more workers to harvest the crop naturally.

RECYCLED SARI FABRIC:
A sari is a 5 metre piece of fabric traditionally worn by Hindu women. Alchemy uses thousands of recycled Indian saris every year. In India, hundreds of jobs are created by the used sari market, and women throughout the country can make extra money by selling their old fashions. We also further recycle this sari fabric by using leftover pieces to make bags, and then finally giving the smallest pieces to a group that makes rugs for charity.
Each year in the deserts of Rajasthan, India, we take the time to hand-select only 100% pure silk saris for our collection. We use only the most beautiful earthy, soft & jewel tone colors and delicate prints. This is getting to be more and more challenging as most saris on the market are called “silk” but in fact they are nylon or polyester (often in bright Indian colors like hot pink, neon yellow and parrot green!). Alchemy’s silk pieces are quality, one-of-a-kind works of wearable art. These pieces carry a vibration from the women who once wore the saris – one is often attracted to a particular piece without knowing why.