You'll be hard pushed to enter a variety of department stores today and not find an object that has alpacas on it. In fact, just the other day I was at TJ Maxx and Target and both stores had a variety of home goods and other merchandise with an alpaca design. I'll admit, I actually bought my dog an alpaca stuffed toy... However, despite the cute and whimsical nature of the alpaca on bed sheets and the like, most ordinary consumers know very little about the alpaca and, more importantly, its potential profound impact on the sustainability of the fashion industry. To be completely honest with you, until I went to an alpaca farm this year, I didn't know a great deal either.
Some statistics about the fashion industry first:
1. One garbage truck of clothing is burned or placed in a landfill every SECOND. Most of this clothing is made from synthetic fibers, which are not biodegradable, do not disintegrate for hundreds of years, and release harmful chemicals when burned.
2. ONE cotton shirt takes 2,700 liters of water to produce. With the world water scarcity at the moment, this could provide an individual with around 2.5 years worth of drinking water.
3. The greenhouse gases associated with creating just one pair of jeans are the same amount as driving a car for eighty miles.
4. Women make up the majority of workers in the industry and are severely underpaid. The legal minimum wage allowed by law in Bangladesh for textile workers is 8000 taka or approximately $94.72 a month.
*Statistics received from the World Resources Institute (https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/01/numbers-economic-social-and-environmental-impacts-fast-fashion)
The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/21/low-wages-garment-workers-bangladesh-analysis)
Clearly, this is problematic and a humanitarian issue.
Last April I took a group of students to Nashville, Tennessee for an array of fashion-related excursions as part of their semester travel study. One of our visits was to an alpaca farm in Tracy City, a small town of around 1,500 people and about 1.5 hours southeast of Nashville. We were greeted by a wonderful woman, Kacie Lynn, who runs the alpaca farm and tends to the farm on her own, sometimes assisted by her identically-named friend. The farm was beautiful and contained a sweet and gentle dog named Kreuger, a couple of very loud donkeys, some sheep, and a horde of alpacas.
The alpacas were beautiful and varied in shade from almost black to almost white. With the exception of two spitting episodes -- one at an unlucky student and another at myself -- they were very friendly and quiet.
SPOILER: Alpaca spit is just as horrendously smelly as they say. I 100% do not recommend.
We were able to watch a shearing demonstration and see the absolutely stunning amount of wool coming off during the shearing. The wool was separated into groups 1, 2, and 3, running from the coarsest wool (1) to the finest (3). The course wool would be utilized for more sturdy garments, while the finest would be used for more luxurious garments. Unlike other animals, alpacas do not shed and, living in a warm and humid southern climate, they are sheared usually around March/April so they are all set for the very hot summers. The process of shearing was a little haphazard at first, as one alpaca refused to be hog-tied for the shearing, so another was brought in instead. I have to admit, the hog-tying was not nice to see personally but once the alpaca was on the ground, she was completely comfortable and safe. Kacie noted that she is extra careful around reproductive areas as that would be a sensitive and painful place to injure. Therefore, wool is kept a little thicker in that area. Also, their necks are SO THIN when there's no wool! I couldn't believe the difference. I truly felt sorry for the little alpaca once she was sheared. I am so sure she was embarrassed in her nakedness as all the alpacas gathered around her and then she isolated herself from the group. To be fair, she wouldn't have to wait long before all her friends looked the same!
Speaking of reproductive areas, this was a not-so-fun fact told to us on our visit. During mating season, when two male alpacas have their eye on the same female, they will try and castrate each other so they cannot mate with the female. Phew! Mating season is rough in alpaca world..
After the shearing, Kacie showed us how she creates a textile from the alpaca wool. She was completely self-taught in all aspects of the production and was working on an old (by today's standards) loom where a foot pedal was used to power the spinning. She would twist the fiber herself while spinning. It was incredible to witness! It really proved the power of self-determination in learning "outdated" techniques and how valuable they can still be. In addition, because she worked everything by hand, every single product was unique!
Kacie then showed us the types of artisan products she sells using the alpaca fiber. Not only were the products so wonderful to see but it was incredible to recognize that you are purchasing a one-of-a-kind product; a product where you can talk to creator and can meet the animal who provided the material. With the demand for artisan products these days, as well as the demand for uniqueness, this could be a game-changer in the industry! Likewise, the environmental impacts of alpacas are so nominal:
They eat very little compared to their body mass and therefore are nowhere near as environmentally degrading as sheep and cattle.
The fiber is completely hypoallergenic, as it contains no lanolin, and it is incredibly soft and comfortable.
The fiber is biodegradable and, since alpacas come in a wide variety of colors, dyeing (and the water consumption associated with that process) can be limited too.
The great thing about alpaca products, in addition to all the above, is that you know exactly where your dollar is going. Your dollar isn't going to a multi-billion dollar enterprise to fund factories in Bangladesh, with the dollar becoming more and more untraceable with each country it is welcomed into. Here, you are funding small-businesses and local communities. You're helping indigenous populations in Peru, whose historic livelihood and culture depend on the productivity and economic viability of alpaca fiber production.
Alpaca fiber patronage is not only more environmentally sustainable, it's more economically sustainable, and socially sustainable. I hope you'll research more into it and seek out opportunities to support small businesses like Kacie's, and more importantly, support sustainable fashion that is completely viable for the future. And let's be honest, they're super cute and who wouldn't want to support a business that provides these beauties with a comfortable life?
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