Alpaca - the miracle wool of the little camel

The "fleece of the gods", as it is called in South America, is one of the most precious fibres in the world, along with silk and cashmere.

Alpacas were domesticated thousands of years ago and kept for their wool. Even today, the majority of alpacas live in South America, although in Europe the advantages of small camels are increasingly being used and they are increasingly being kept as farm animals.

Did you know that alpaca fiber is higher quality than cashmere? Baby alpaca wool in particular is known for its incredible fineness. Due to the length of the fibers, they are less susceptible to pilling and therefore also more durable. The structure of the fibers also offers little surface area for dirt, odor and bacteria, which makes maintenance very easy and also significantly increases durability.

The hollow alpaca fibres can absorb about 25% of their own weight in moisture. In addition, the alpaca fibre regulates moisture to the outside so that it can evaporate, thus ensuring a unique wearing comfort and feel-good climate. What about the sustainability of alpacas? If you consider that an alpaca gives off 2.5 - 3 kg of wool per year, while the cashmere goat only produces 150 grams, this explains the higher price of cashmere. On the other hand, the demand for cashmere is causing more and more goat farms to emerge, which leads to increased pollution of the environment. Why?

The cashmere goats have pointed hooves that tear up the ground. Alpacas, on the other hand, have small bales so that the soil is preserved. When eating, the alpacas tend to "nibble" the plants with their teeth; Goats and sheep, on the other hand, tear out the grass roots together with the bale. The grass therefore does not grow back so quickly. And animal welfare? Various animal welfare organizations rightly sounded the alarm when it became known how brutally some workers attacked the animals during shearing. It is an enormous stress for the animals anyway to be caught, held and sheared. Nevertheless, as with sheep's wool (RWS - Responsible Wool Standard), there is also a seal of approval (RAS - Responsible Alpaca Standard) for alpaca wool, which guarantees high animal standards in husbandry and shearing. We are happy to be able to use RAS-certified wool for our design as well.