Alpaca Loca

The alpaca wool used in the Alpaca Loca collection comes from the Andes mountains in Peru and Ecuador. The alpaca wool is produced by small, local communities that often depend on this artisanal production. Alpaca Loca has an established, personal relationship with these local communities. This is how the brand helps Ecuador’s economic growth and alleviate poverty among alpaca herders.

While the brand does fair trade, Alpaca Loca is not verified by a third party and therefore has no Fairtrade certificate.

The most commonly used material in the collection is, of course, alpaca wool. It is a natural material with many positive properties. For instance, alpaca wool is much softer and stronger than sheep’s wool. Due to the lack of lanolin, alpaca wool is hypoallergenic, making it suitable for people with sensitive skin. Read more about the different types of wool and their durability here.

Unfortunately, Alpaca Loca also uses other materials in their products. In most of the collection, alpaca wool is combined with acrylic and cotton so that the clothes keep their shape better.

Acrylic is a synthetic material and is not durable. Harmful chemicals are used to produce the material. Another reason why this material is not sustainable is the risk of spreading microplastics. When synthetic clothes are washed, microplastics can be released, which then end up in our rivers and oceans. This is why COSH! recommends washing your synthetic clothes in a GuppyFriend. This is a laundry bag that catches the microplastics so they are not released. Fortunately, you don’t need to wash scarves and plaids often which helps reducing this risk.

Cotton is also not sustainable. Growing conventional cotton requires a lot of irrigation water and uses pesticides and insecticides. More sustainable alternatives to this are recycled and organic cotton.

Because Alpaca Loca combines different materials, the brand is not 100% circular. Separately, each material is easy to recycle, the wool is even biodegradable, but in a material blend this is much more difficult.

Fortunately, the Alpaca Loca products are good quality, which means you can keep using them for years. This longer lifespan improves the brand’s sustainability.

Because the products are made in South America, Alpaca Loca’s products take a long way to get to the Netherlands. The supply chain may be long in distance, but not in number of intermediate links. Alpaca Loca actually has direct contact with the production communities and even visits them, this reduces the number of middlemen. 

The alpaca is native to the Andes. By choosing alpaca wool sourced from Peru and Ecuador, Alpaca Loca supports local communities and allows the animals to live in their natural habitat.

Alpaca Loca holds animal welfare in high regard. It is therefore strictly monitored that the animals are treated well, and that shearing is painless. The wool used by Alpaca Loca comes from small-scale wool farmers. The farmer’s income depends on his animals, so the alpacas are treated well.

Alpacas live in the Andes. This means their fur protects them from the very cold, winter temperatures. In spring, however, the animal naturally loses the wool. By shearing their wool, the farmer ensures that the animal would not suffer from heavy layers of wool during the hot summers. Shearing is done by hand and is only necessary once a year.

Alpaca wool is known for its good quality. The wool has been recognised as an exclusive product by the Inca peoples of South America for many years. 

Because this is a high-quality material, over time it has developed into a sought-after product in Western fashion. It is also a natural material. The fibre is hollow and light, making it warmer and softer to the touch than other wools. Because the wool contains no lanolin, it is hypoallergenic, and water- and dirt-resistant.

That means you don’t need to wash your soft scarf or plaid as often. An overnight airing or hanging your alpaca items in the bathroom is actually sufficient. If you do want to wash your product, it is best to do so at a low temperature and let it dry flat. This will ensure that it retains its shape and stays beautiful for longer.

Alpaca Loca’s collection includes soft scarves, hats and gloves. The brand also has a range of plaids in different styles. Here you will also find plaids with colourful indigenous designs to brighten up your interior.

In terms of transparency, Alpaca Loca does not score very well. We may know the production countries, but information is still missing to get a full picture of the brand. For example, it is not known where the cotton and acrylic originate.