Is Alpaca Really Eco-Friendly?

“Eco-friendly” is a word we prefer to handle with care. No textile is without impact. But alpaca has real advantages over other warm fibres, along with a few limitations we would rather name. Here are both.

What alpaca does well

It uses little water

Alpacas live on semi-arid high plateaus and drink little. Their fleece contains no lanolin, so it needs far less water and detergent to wash than sheep's wool, which has to be degreased. And unlike cotton, no irrigation is involved.

It protects pastures

Its feet are soft pads, not hard hooves: they don't tear up the plant cover. It grazes by cutting the grass rather than pulling at the roots, which lets the pasture grow back. Cashmere goats, by contrast, are often blamed for the desertification of certain steppes.

It needs little or no dye

More than twenty natural shades exist. Our most popular colours, Pearl White and Arctic White, are close to them; bright shades such as Magma Red are dyed, and we don't hide it.

It is biodegradable

A pure, unblended animal fibre returns to the soil within a few years. An acrylic beanie lingers for decades and sheds plastic microfibres with every wash. That is one of the reasons all our pieces are made of 100% alpaca, with no blends.

It lasts

This is the argument that carries the most weight. The impact of a garment is divided by the number of winters it sees. A resilient fibre that pills little and doesn't felt, as long as you follow a few simple care rules, means fewer replacement purchases.

What needs to be put in perspective

• Transport. Our wool comes from Peru, where it is also knitted, before travelling to France. It's a long journey, partly offset by the fact that it is a single trip, rather than back-and-forth between countries for spinning, knitting and finishing.
• The animal is still a ruminant. Like all livestock farming, it emits methane, even though alpaca herds are small and extensively farmed.
• Certification is not absolution. The RWS label, audited by Intertek, governs animal welfare and land management. It does not make the fibre “neutral”.

What we do on our side

No synthetic blends, certified wool, traceability required at every stage (we go into detail in where our wool comes from), plastic-free kraft cardboard packaging, and pieces designed to be kept. Our full commitments are on our About page.

The question that really matters

It's not “is this wool perfect?”, but “how many winters will I wear it?”. A beanie or scarf that you love, look after and keep for ten years is the most eco-friendly accessory you can buy.