CLOTHES CALLING: Romy Scheroder at Satya. : Michael T. Regan

Just a little over two months old, Satya Boutique claims to be the only sustainable, sweatshop-free boutique in Philadelphia. "It's not a concept, it's the right thing to do," says Romy Scheroder, 36, creator and owner, who drew on her own retail experiences to create a different kind of boutique.

Originally from Trinidad, Scheroder moved to the U.S. in 1984 and is a recent graduate of the University of the Arts. She grew up with a social awareness, but two years ago, while working at Benetton, became more alert to the daily waste of plastic bags from shipments and Philadelphia's lack of a dependable recycling program for plastic. She also began to notice how cheaply materials were made in department stores and how the salespeople could not tell her whether the products came from a family-owned factory or a sweatshop.

Moreover, she found a parallel with the organic food movement. "If we're eating healthy and we have better choices for medication and nutrition, why don't we have choices behind what we put on our bodies?"

But the store's products are a far cry from peasant blouses, granny dresses and tie-dyed burlap sacks. Scheroder found designers whose creations are certified organic and sweatshop-free and fashion forward and trendy. Satya's line is sophisticated and simple with a slight funky twist, appropriate for either professional situations or everyday wear. A berry-colored knee-length dress made of soy products is form-fitting and classy, yet has a flirty low-cut neckline.

A T-shirt is built from older shirts that had been thrown away, re-collected, chopped up and re-spun into a new fabric in a re-creative process known as upcycling. Hemp ankle boots for men have soles made of recycled car tires, black belts were carved from tractor-trailer tires, small handbags were sewn with upholstery fabrics from thrown-out couches, and one larger black and white purse was made from an old dress found in the closet of one designer's grandmother.

When the business first opened, Scheroder sent out press releases and depended upon friends' word of mouth. "There's a targeted audience. Of course I would like to reach those who shop on Chestnut and Walnut Streets so they can buy responsibly," says Scheroder. "Mostly I have young moms and dads, college students and even older people who remember times when they used to wear hemp."

Scheroder is not some anti-capitalist hippie. In fact, she very much believes in fostering consumerism, just in a more conscientious way. "You can't tell people not to shop because that's not going to make a good economy," she says. "You give them choices and they'll come; if you don't give them choices then they're stuck with what they have."

Recycling is at the heart of this boutique. Not only are the materials recycled, but Scheroder plans to recycle some of the money spent here. Dropping $48 for a T-shirt may seem a little steep, but one purchase may soon benefit local designers, U.S. manufacturers and nonprofit organizations. As soon as the boutique begins making a net profit, Scheroder will donate up to 10 percent of it to one of five or six nonprofit organizations, based on customer vote. Scheroder and her husband are researching which organizations would benefit the most from donations, but they hope to include groups geared toward the industry, such as the National Labor Committee. "The way that Satya works," she says, is that "the money stays in the U.S. and we build a better Philadelphia."

Scheroder finds importance in curiosity. To be a more conscientious shopper, Scheroder's advice is to simply ask questions. "Somewhere along the line in history, we as human beings stopped being curious about things because it all got removed from us; if the products aren't made where we can see it, we don't really question it anymore," she says. "First of all, [ask] do I really need this? And secondly, who is it benefiting?"

Satya Boutique, 701 S. Ninth St., Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m., 215-627-3440, www.satyaboutique.com