Tree Town Batiks

All of our clothing is handrawn individually with melted wax. First we draw our own unique design onto the shirt using a copper tool called a Tjanting. Then we paint inside the design. After the paint dry's we cover the design with wax inside and out. We move the waxed image a bit to create where we want the crackle effect. Next we add the shirt to a dye bath. Once the garments been dyed we boil out all the wax. This process not only takes out the dye but it also sets the dye. Once all the wax is out the garment is washed and hung dry.

Will your shirts shrink? TOP
Our shirts come Pre-Shrunk but during the boiling process the shirts undergo extreme heat and tend to shrink just a little. I would order a size up on all the American Apparel styles.

AA is a sweatshop free company based out of L.A. All the employees are paid higher than the average Federal minimum.They are offered parking, subsidized public transport, subsidized lunches, free onsite massages, a bike lending program, a program of paid days off, ESL classes and much more.

They also offer affordable health insurance. Just recently they added a health clinic inside.

Gildan's Fair labour compliance program was accredited by the FLA on June 13, 2007. The Company is the first vertically-integrated basic activewear apparel manufacturer to receive accreditation. Gildan believes that to grow its own business, it must also help the communities in which it operates grow as well. The company promotes a healthy management style that encourages sustainable development, environmentally friendly practices and a commitment to community service. It operates in an ethical, stimulating work environment offering positive and beneficial working conditions for all employees. It also adheres to all legislation in every country where it has operations.

The owners and employees of Dharma are absolutely against the idea of unfair treatment of workers, forced labor, child labor, and anything that deprives a person of human dignity.

"If we should become aware that anything we sell is produced under any of those conditions we would refuse to continue selling it. Moreover, we are actively involved in promoting fair trade clothing sewing in Bolivia and Indonesia." In Bolivia, the money goes straight to the workers, with no "middle man". In Indonesia, the workers have fair pay and quite good benefits. You can find the products from the cooperatives we support in those countries on our web-site. Clothing that is made for us in India - we have been reassured that the company importing it sends someone to the factories frequently, making sure there are no violations of the human rights contracts each factory has signed and that the workers have fair wages and benefits.

We go further in that Dharma provides both free cataract surgery for the poor and financially supports open heart surgeries for poor indigenous children in Bolivia.

What makes your clothing so unique? TOP
All of our Batiks are handrawn individually by my husband and I using our own unique designs. We both draw each design on the shirts by hand. After that we paint each one. When we paint we are always coming up with new ways to color the design and add more shading with the colors. This makes each one so unique. You'll find that no two shirts are ever the same.

All of the Batiks are put in boiling water to set the dye and also to rinse out any excess dye left in it. After that I wash and dry the shirt. They shouldn't bleed after that. I recommend washing yur shirt the first time with like colors or by itself. I too love to wear Batiks so I keep a few I like. I've never had a problem wth them bleeding on any other pieces of clothing.

We use Fiber Reactive dyes which soak into the fiber of the shirt immediatly helping the shirt to retain such a bold color. Of course like any tie-dye, over a period of time it will fade just a little bit. To make your image have a longer life you'll want to wash in cold water and hang dry. Otherwise if you want to dry the garment I suggest drying it on Low.

Do you do Special Orders? TOP
First, a Special Order is an order where you tell me your idea and I create a design similar to what you have asked for. Special Orders have been done for Bands, Birthday Gifts, or anything personalized. I have done many Special Orders in the past and still enjoy making them from time to time. We realized that special orders do take a chunk of our time(coming up with a personalized design) so we've decided to charge an additional fee. The cost will depend on how much detail, the size, and time taken to make it. It will vary between $12.00-$100.00. Now if you would like say a Yellow Unicorn instead of a brown one that is not considered a special order. These can take anywhere from a week to two weeks depending on the design. You will want to e-mail us with your ideas jonah6@msn.com

Do you offer Wholesale? TOP
Yes. You can e-mail us with your thoughts on creating an account, jonah6@msn.com

Do you offer Gift Wrap? TOP
If you want to have your order shipped to someone else as a gift, we will tissue wrap your item and tie it off with Hemp Twine. Attached to it will be our "Care of Garment" card. If you are wanting a personlized card to be attached as well, we'll attach our card onto the shirt tag and then we'll attach your personalized card to the package. There will be an additional charge of $3.00 added. At time of purchase you'll want to specify under Special Request what special saying you would want on your card. One of us will write it for you. We would love to be able to ship all of our clothing in cute, fun packaging with brightly colored tissue paper. As an independant business owner we feel it is very important to cut back on the amount of paper/packaging used. We feel you'll open up your envelope mailer and love your Batik so much that you won't even be concerend as to how it was wrapped. Unless of course it's gift wrapped for a special person!

US costs $4.60 First Class Shipping and handling. Any item added to order is $1.50.

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