ALZA ACTIVE · FALL 2026

we couldn't find fashion-forward, clean activewear, so we built it.

Screened against PFAS, microplastics, and other endocrine disruptors that come standard in performance apparel. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.

WHY IT MATTERS

what's in your activewear ends up in your body.

What we wear matters as much as what we eat. We check ingredient labels at the grocery store, the supplement aisle, and the kitchen, but the same standard rarely follows us into the closet. Activewear sits on the skin for hours under sweat, heat, and friction, and those conditions pull what's in the fabric straight into the body.

Most activewear solves one part of the problem. The clean labels rarely get the fit, feel, or design right, while the fashion and performance brands use the chemistry we screen against. Alza Active screens all three: the chemistry, the fit, and the design.

We won't promise everything is perfectly clean. Getting there usually means a product that doesn't fit or doesn't perform, and we didn't want to make that trade. We screen out the chemistry we know causes harm and we're upfront about what we couldn't fully eliminate.

OUR STANDARD

what we won't put in the fabric.

  • PFAS coatings

    ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR · BIOACCUMULATIVE

    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the water and stain repellents that make most activewear "performance." PFOA, one of the most studied compounds in the class, has a serum half-life of around eight years. There are documented links across the class to thyroid dysfunction, fertility decline, and immune suppression.

    WHAT WE DID

    None of our pieces have a water-repellent or stain-resistant finish, and we don't use PFAS in any form.

  • Phthalates and bisphenols

    ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR · REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY

    Phthalates and bisphenols are the plasticizers and softeners in stretch fibers and printed graphics. They're banned in children's products in much of the world but remain unregulated for adult apparel in the US, where the CDC has found them in over 95% of people tested.

    WHAT WE DID

    We source phthalate-free stretch fiber and skip the printed graphics that carry them.

  • Microplastics and microfibers

    ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR · PERSISTENT IN TISSUE

    Synthetic fabrics shed microscopic plastic fragments during wear and washing. Sweat, heat, and friction during workouts speed up the shedding. The fragments carry plasticizers and dyes into the body, and researchers have documented them in human blood, lung tissue, and placentas.

    WHAT WE DID

    We use cotton wherever stretch isn't required. For pieces that do need synthetic fiber, we work with mills that verify additive control on every production run.

  • Anti-odor nanoparticles

    MICROBIOME DISRUPTOR · ACCUMULATES IN SKIN

    Silver nanoparticles and triclosan-adjacent compounds are applied as antimicrobial finishes that disrupt the skin microbiome, accumulate in tissue, and don't rinse out in washing.

    WHAT WE DID

    We don't need them. Our cotton breathes, and our synthetics are finished mechanically without any antimicrobial layer.

  • Formaldehyde resins and azo dye

    CARCINOGEN · ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR

    Anti-wrinkle resins use formaldehyde-based chemistry that IARC classifies as a Group 1 carcinogen. Some of the commercial azo dyes used for colorants release aromatic amines linked to hormone disruption.

    WHAT WE DID

    We use low-impact dye processes screened against a restricted substance list that goes beyond what's legally required, and we skip the wrinkle-resistance step entirely.

THIRD-PARTY VERIFIED

four certifications, independently audited at the source.

Independent organizations run our chemistry screens, set the substance limits, and audit the supply chain. They test the fabric before anything goes into production.

OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100

Every component tested against more than 1,000 harmful substances, including the regulated and the not-yet regulated.

01

BLUESIGN

Chemistry approved at the input level before any fabric goes into production. Used by Patagonia and the technical outdoor industry.

02

GOTS

Global Organic Textile Standard. Covers our cotton hoodies and crews from fiber through final finishing.

03

PFAS-FREE VERIFIED

Independent lab testing on every production run to confirm no detectable PFAS in the finished garment.

04

Specific certifications confirmed at launch.

WHY US

built by the team that already treats this.

We run Alza Wellness, our functional nutrition practice, where we treat the downstream impact of chemical exposure: hormone dysregulation, thyroid dysfunction, fertility issues, gut imbalance, and autoimmune patterns. The compounds in conventional activewear are the same ones driving those patterns, and the same ones we don’t like putting on our own bodies. Alza Active is the line we built so we wouldn't have to. We screened the fabric the same way we screen what we recommend in the clinic.

FIRST DROP

the foundation pieces

Made to a higher standard, in a palette that goes with everything already in your closet.

Bra tops

STRAIGHT AND SCOOP NECK
NYLON · SPANDEX

Shorts

3-INCH AND 5-INCH
NYLON · SPANDEX

HEAVYWEIGHT COTTON

Hoodie and crewneck

Running cap

POLYESTER

High-profile
baseball cap

COTTON TWILL

The first drop launches with women's bra tops and shorts, and unisex tops and caps. The running cap is the one exception to the non-toxic standard, where the performance fabric mattered more to us than the chemistry screen. Men's-specific cuts follow in 2027.