MISSION STATEMENT: 

Altar has always sought to uplift community by focusing on handmade story-telling. We believe that objects are imbued with power and meaning, and that artistry and craftsmanship is an important part of human connection. Ethical manufacturing guidelines and sustainable practices take many forms and narratives, and we are always committed to discovering new ways to improve upon both. Our store is committed to diversity and inclusivity: in our hiring practices, our product sourcing, our visual content, and our core values. Please read on to learn about some of the ways we are addressing these subjects, and we welcome feedback, suggestions, and opportunities to educate ourselves and grow our values. 

MANUFACTURING: 

Our apparel is proudly made in the USA. Most of our apparel is made by us in our Portland studio, but we also partner with two factories in Los Angeles. We source our textiles deadstock, which can be implicitly challenging to some degree because most of our styles are in somewhat limited stock. Nevertheless, we seek to repeat classic styles that are staple elements which will last year-over-year, and we stand by the promise that we care about your products well after you’ve purchased them. For example, if you ever need to: bring your garment by for alterations or repairs. 

SUSTAINABILITY: 

As of June 2020, we are focusing as much as we can on sustainable measures, especially when it comes to the main byproduct of retail sales: packaging. We are now sourcing compostable, biodegradable, and recycled shipping materials as well as packaging for in-store sales. We have also newly added a carbon credits program called Climate Friendly Cart. Climate Friendly Cart is an app that appears on the cart page of online store and gives our customers the ability to add a carbon credit to their purchase by simply clicking a button. We hope you love this, and please let us know what you think of it!  

We also want to note our specific efforts to employ "zero waste" protocol in our production methods. This means we use as much or all of our fabric yardage (included but not limited to an assortment of zero-waste products such as masks, headbands, scrunchies, pockets, and more!). In an effort to ensure maximum yields and usage, our pattern markers are made to ensure minimum waste. 

SIZE GRADATIONS:

As of June 2020, Altar Houseline apparel’s size gradations will range from size Small to 6XL. We are truly so excited to offer a size range that invites more beautiful babes to try out our clothing, and please know that we are also open to alterations if need be :) 

DIVERSITY: 

To us, diversity is the kelson of artistry. Our most essential goal is to the honor the lived experiences of our staff, our customers, our friends, and our community. We can always learn more by listening, and we will always welcome hearing from you if there are ways for us to broaden representation.

CLASSISM: 

The issue of classism is something we grapple with often. Cassie’s own personal lived experience, particularly as a youth, involved economic disadvantages that have informed much of her perspectives about capitalism in general (and I need a huge space to write about that…..). The challenge of manufacturing apparel in the USA with ethical guidelines is that margins are slim and price points are never, ever going to compete with those of major fast-fashion outlets. This is something we try to reconcile as best we can, but it leaves feelings of inaccessibility (and a desire to write a very long piece of writing about capitalism….. but I digress again). We have found one tool that we have hoped improves access to the products we carry. It is called Afterpay and it can be found at cart check out. Afterpay allows customers to break up purchases into four, interest free payments. We have always looked at this with some degree of opportunity because of the way it lessens *some* barriers to entry on price points, but we will also always strive to keep our retail prices as accessible as we possibly can. 

We also throw up quarterly Warehouse Sales (online and in-person) and these are an amazing opportunity to stock up at unbelievable prices (literal $5 bins!). Look out for those! 

LEARNING HOW TO BE BETTER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS: 

If you have made it to the end of this document, first of all: thank you for caring. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about us. 

We are always learning to be better at what we do — both in product development and with our company culture. We are so grateful to folx who reach out with suggestions, recommendations, and questions, and we please invite you to tell us how we can best serve you. Feel free to email us at info@altarpdx.com 

A very genuine thank you to our vendors and customers for supporting independent manufacturing.

Returns & exchanges

To initiate a return for an online purchase, please go here:

Altar Returns