Alkeme Atelier
Alkeme Atelier is inspired by the ancient science of Alchemy and the process of transforming and combining the four elements (earth, water, fire and air). This idea of breaking down an rebuilding materials led us to produce our bags with sustainable, plant-based textiles.
Utilizing material such as Pinatex not only helps us to support the farming communities, but also reduces the amount of natural resources needed to manufacture our products. Along with the exterior of our bags, we also construct the interior of our bags with an eco-friendly textile. Tons of plastic is discarded every year, polluting lands, rivers, oceans, coasts and beaches.
We take this waste and transform it into a brand new material, a fabric used as the linings of our handbags. We hope taking these conscious steps will aid in the mission to protect the planet and cultivate an ethical and sustainable fashion. We are constantly innovating for sustainable materials.
FACTORIES - We have built relationships with ISO 9001 certified factories to produce our bags. This ensures quality product. ISO 9001 is an international standard to measure a factories ability to produce quality product. The certification ensures that factory has in place a quality management system.
MATERIAL FACTORIES - Factories that produce our recycled materials and bamboo fiber have GRS certification. Our factories have received Global Recycled Standard certification in the entire process from raw material to finished fabric.
The Global Recycled Standard is a product standard for tracking and verifying the content of recycled materials in final product, while ensuring strict production requirements.
MATERIALS
PINEAPPLE FIBER - Pinatex is a natural, sustainable and patented innovative material made from pineapple leaf fibers. Pinatex fibers are the by-product of the pineapple harvest. It is made by felting together the long leaf fibers of the pineapple which would normally be left as a waste. Using this by product provides the farming communities an extra source of income and producing it requires no additional land, water or fertilizer.
CACTUS LEATHER - Cactus leather is a vegan material developed using leaves from the cactus plant. Created in an organic plantation in Mexico, the cacti are cultivated without the use of herbicides or pesticides. There is no irrigation system for these plants; they are instead grown using only rain water and earth minerals that are rich in the region where the ranch is located.
Any unused organic cactusmaterial not needed for the leather is exported and sold in the food industry.
On the plantation, an agriculture team cuts the mature cactus leaves of each harvest, once every 6-8 months. The leaves are then dried in the sun for three days, avoiding extra energy usage while still achieving the proper level of humidity. Then, the raw material is processed into a vegan leather alternative that still has up to a 50% organic composition. The final textile is soft and flexible, yet sturdy, with a lifespan of up to 10 years.
GRAPE LEATHER - Grape fiber leather is an inventive material produced from waste of the wine industry. The fabric is composed of grape skin, stalk and seeds, as well as other raw and recycled materials, such as vegetal oils. It is versatile, printable, strong and easy to work with.
VEGAN FIBER - Alkeme Vegan Fiber is our signature very fine, synthetic fiber. It is an innovative material and the base 70% of material is made of recycled materials and small very fine fibers. The material is responsibly engineered to last longer than animal leather. The material is lightweight, almost one third the weight of leather. It is water resistant and scratch resistant.
RECYLED PLASTIC BOTTLES - Linings in our bags are made 100 % by recycling plastic bottles. Innovation and available technology makes it possible to create fabrics out of thrown away plastic and plastic bottles. It is estimated that about 60 million plastic bottles end up in land fills everyday.
By recycling them into polyester we are not only avoiding using petroleum but we are also avoiding pollution caused by burning waste plastic. Produced in Global Recycled Standard certified factories.
BAMBOO FIBER - Our dust bags are made of bamboo fiber. Bamboo fiber is made from natural grown bamboo. Extracted cellulose fiber is the fifth natural fiber after cotton, linen, wool & silk. It is anti bacterial and odor free.
Bamboo fiber is 100% biodegradable. Produced in Global Recycled Standard certified factories.
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