Alpaca – the responsible choice
At Maiami, we love wool. We love all sorts but alpaca is becoming one of our favourites. Alpaca is not only super soft, light and luxurious. It also helps us to push our efforts in terms of responsibility.
Our responsibility approach is based on four core principles: Empowerment, Environment, Resources and Longevity (see also our Responsibility Report). By using Alpaca, we push at least two of them.
Empowerment
We don’t only source the material directly from our supplier in Peru, we have our alpaca products knit there as well. Our supplier supports local and sustainable enterprises and fights gender specific violence by teaching social and technical skills to under privileged girls and women – opening up new perspectives by giving them a fair income.
And there are more advantages. Firstly, no middle-people like agents are involved, all proceeds go straight to the source. Secondly, we minimise transport as only the finished products are shipped to us.
Environment
But also in terms of sustainability, alpacas have a lot to offer.
- Alpacas nibble only the tops of grass and other plants; they do not rip plants out of the ground which results in less destruction of the vegetation, allowing it to grow back.
- Alpacas have two toes with toenails on top and a soft pad on the bottom of each foot that reduce their effect on pasture-land, keeping it intact.
- The natural habitat of alpacas is about 3,800 metres above sea level. At this altitude, the water supply is natural and the land is generally not suitable for agriculture, so no valuable soil is blocked for growing crop.
- The efficiency of alpacas is especially notable considering that they require much less food intake than most other fibre-producing livestock.
To back all this up, our supplier has acquired these certificates:
- Textile Exchange RAS Responsible Alpaca Standard
- Traceable Alpaca (the material’s journey can be traced from its provenance, to transport, to production)
- Carbon Footprint Peru (certificate by the state of Peru regarding its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint)
You are just as intrigued as us? Then check out our Alpaca styles here.
