The newest addition to the collection, the Alpaca Henley, is the perfect layer this winter. The alpaca fiber comes from a small farm in Southern Peru, where the alpacas roam valleys shadowed by the peaks of the Andes.
G- Super-warm: the henley is lightweight and very warm. Alpaca fiber is up to five times warmer by weight than wool, and the alpaca fiber in this sweater comes from grasslands where temperatures drop well below freezing.
U- No Itch: When alpacas are stressed, they grow thick, coarse hair among their soft fiber. The alpacas that grew the fleece in the henley had access to an abundance of clean water, native plants, and space to roam. The fiber reflects the happy alpacas: it is soft, silky, extremely warm, and does not itch.
I- Regenerative: The group of alpaqueros has been working with a local NGO for over 10 years to regenerate the grasslands and waterways the alpacas roam. They use adaptive grazing, replant native grasses, and rebuild wetlands on their land.
D- Traceable: We have personally met with every person and animal involved in making this sweater. It begins on a small farm in the Altiplano of Peru; then to Arequipa for spinning and natural dyeing; and then to Lima, where knitters make the sweater on a handloom.
E- Unique: The sweaters were dyed with local Peruvian plants. Chilca created a light greenish grey, and Aguaypilli created a dark purple. Yarn dyeing and the natural variation of dyeing with plants make it so each sweater has its own unique, marled hue.