The Sustainable Alpaca

Alpacas are not just adorable, they’re also environmentally friendly! Alpacas are less harmful to the earth than other species of domesticated livestock and produce a fantastic renewable resource: fiber! When you wear clothing made from alpaca fiber you’re doing your part to help the earth.

Alpaca Fiber: A Renewable Resource

Alpacas produce an incredibly warm, super-soft fiber. Unlike sheep’s wool, alpaca fiber possesses no lanolin, making it hypoallergenic. Unlike sheep’s wool and cotton, alpaca fiber doesn’t require caustic steps during processing that cause pollution in the environment. One alpaca produces enough fiber for 4 to 5 sweaters, compared to a cashmere goat that only produces enough for 1/4 of a sweater each year. Alpaca fiber is both moisture wicking and breathable. Highly durable, its high tensile strength allows it to outlast other fibers. Alpacas are naturally colorful, reducing the need to rely on dyes. Their fiber is categorized into over 22 recognized colors in the USA!

Treading Lightly on the Earth

Unlike hoofed species of livestock, alpacas have soft, padded feet with two toes which do not cause pasture damage. Due to a lack of upper front teeth, alpacas are also natural lawnmowers. They tend to graze on the stalk or leaves of a plant, while leaving the root intact.

Consuming Less, Producing More

Considered to be more biologically efficient than other grazing livestock, alpacas only consume about 1.5% of their body weight in food daily and require less water than cotton by weight of fiber produced. In return, they produce excellent fertilizer that is easily harvested from communal dung piles. Due to their efficient digestive systems, alpacas manure, also referred to as beans, can be put directly in gardens and in flower pots without needing to be composted first.

These are just a few of the things that make alpaca one of the most sustainable, all natural and renewable fibers available today. For decades, petrol-chemical based companies have been working to engineer and manufacturer staple fibers that have similar characteristics to alpaca, but they all fall short of mother natures design.

On top of all these great features that make alpaca a sustainable fiber, all of our alpaca products are Made in the USA with U.S. Grown Alpaca fiber. With a domestic based supply chain, our natural fibers are not traveling across the globe to be produced into clothes and accessories, making their carbon footprint much smaller and friendlier to the planet and it’s inhabitants.