ALAS

     
About the creators of ALAS

Betony and Kelly first met on their first day of class at university in Brisbane. At the time they both shared  a common interest both obsessed with the 60’s and gravitated towards each other. Soon after they fast realised they both had grown up in the same area of north west NSW, and had even competed in the same regional drama events as kids without officially meeting each other. 

Over the course of their fashion design degree they discovered a shared aesthetic and approach to sustainability, which led to their collaboration in designing their final uni year collection. The range attracted interest from local boutiques from there they started their first sustainable womenswear brand. However their brand was developing quickly and less likely to stop they decided it was best to travel while they had the time. The besties packed their bags as to only assumed what they thought was only to be a year holiday but instead it ended up being a two year life changing stint in London designing for numerous labels, from one off garments for London Fashion Week to mad up-cycling projects for Topshop. 

About ALAS

ALAS sleepwear allows you to sleep and dream in complete comfort, with peace of mind. Made in india where The range is made of hand loomed wovens and supple organic jersey. The cotton is grown in india as well as spun,woven and dyed.

The designers at ALAS have endeavoured to create a brand that is socially and ecologically responsible, allowing the wearer to sleep and dream in complete comfort, with peace of mind.

Their garments are constructed with GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) or Fairtrade accredited cotton, meaning that the cotton has been farmed without any dangerous chemicals,pesticides and fertilisers. The fabrics are then dyed and printed using methods that avoid harmful AZO's and formaldehyde! As well all their packaging,swing tags and business cards are recycled and recyclable. Keeping it all eco friendly. 

Why you created ALAS/why ethical fashion is important ?

For us, it just seemed like common sense. If you are going to create something, why not make a positive difference, minimize your negative impact and connect with the whole production process on a holistic level? As designers, we have a responsibility and we feel that for a product to be truly beautiful it can’t have an ugly past saturated in exploitation of the environment or people. Farmers, dyers, spinners and sewers are all integral parts of creating a garment and we all need to respect them.

Our hope for the future is that ethical fashion will become more prevalent, and, with this mind, we are determined to heed the lessons we have learned along the way and continue to champion ethical fashion.

Meaning of ALAS?

ALAS is an acronym for All Light, All Shadow. This concept is the basis of inspiration for the all-organic Australian sleepwear label, whose colourful,comfortable garments take the wearer from day to night, waking to sleeping. 

 

What inspires Betony and Kelly?

Cherishing the tiny aspects that make up our world, the designers are inspired
by a myriad of things..the beauty of hummingbirds, the colour of coral,
natural symmetry and practical simplicity.

Difficulties

Some of our greatest barriers have arisen from their manufacturing process, which mostly takes place in India. By basing our operations in India, we source some of the world’s best-quality organic cotton from local growers, and also provide new employment opportunities. But the initial search for a manufacturer that could produce quality garments proved harder than we had imagined - we aren't after cheap prices, we want quality. 

It can be a long process finding our ethical makers, and we travel to India to meet with them directly. We literally get a handful of contacts, hop in a rickshaw and after about 10 stops (asking for directions) we find the places! Sometimes it leads us to beautiful women’s co-ops in the middle of slums, other times we end up in large industrial facilities with state of the art machines. We need to visit the factories first hand to be sure they are genuine and share similar ethics, it’s not as black and white as “oh this factory has this accreditation”

As well as producing quality garments, another ongoing challenge is ensuring that every step of the process is transparent and fair. This involves considerations such as visiting our factories and suppliers in India, using certified-organic cotton and ensuring that dyes don’t end up in rivers

ALAS recently won the 'Pure Spirit Award' - a category of the

UK based Ethical Fashion Forum's Innovation Awards.

Betony and Kelly have a beautiful studio as well 
we were lucky enough to have these photos for an insight to you all of their studio! 
 

Their new collection Telescope 
 The prints and colour schemes in the ALAS are not only unique but colourful as well.
A large amount of energy goes into the after care of clothing, so please be mindful. You can machine wash your ALAS garment in cool water, and drip dry to reduce energy consumption. 

 Special thanks to Betony and Kelly & Kate from Pistol PR 
http://shop.alasthelabel.com/