The quality of Peruvian Pima cotton is unmatched. Its extra-long fiber length gives it an incredibly soft, smooth feel and a bright luster. It is highly durable – up to 45% stronger than ordinary cotton – so it won’t pill or fray over time. Grown free from pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, Pima cotton is also hypoallergenic, making it an ideal choice for those with sensitive skin.

The Purity of Pima

All of our Pima cotton is sourced from Peru’s Northern coastal valleys, which has outstanding growing conditions. It is harvested entirely by hand, which not only reduces its environmental impact but results in a superior fiber – undamaged by industrial machinery, Pima cotton preserves its fiber length, softness and a natural white hue that can be dyed beautifully.

The pure, clean cotton fibers are also sorted by hand and then spun into yarns by a textile mill in Lima. We work carefully with them to engineer the finest yarns, such as our high-gauge, two-fold 80/2 yarn that’s knitted into our super-soft jersey t-shirt fabric.

Making The Cut

We’ve partnered with a specialized workshop in Chincha that’s renowned for its first-rate production quality and forward-thinking approach to sustainability. From knitting and dying to cutting and hand-finishing, each part of the process is handled by a highly skilled team with extensive knowledge and experience.

We stay close to the process and take pride in getting every element just right. Take color, for instance. We’re fanatical about achieving exactly the right shade, even when it comes to seemingly simple black and white – it took us several rounds of development with our dye lab to reach the perfect pigments. These incremental adjustments are vital to achieving the level of quality we seek.

Softer, lighter and warmer than sheep’s wool, and more durable and versatile than cashmere, alpaca wool is highly sought-after for its many qualities. It doesn’t contain lanolin, making it hypoallergenic; it doesn’t pill or scratch; and it is naturally waterproof, so it’s resistant to shrinking. It performs well in extreme temperatures, keeping you warm when’s it cold and cooling you down in the heat. It is also one of the world’s most renewable natural fibers. The alpaca wool we use is 100% traceable, certified organic and ethically made in every respect.

A Lighter Footprint

Part of the camel family, alpacas live high in the Andes Mountains – about 3,800 meters above sea level, where the water supply is natural, and the land generally isn’t suitable for agriculture. Unlike sheep and goats, alpacas tread very lightly on the land – instead of sharp hooves, they have toes with soft undersides that don’t damage the soil. They nibble just the tops of vegetation, preserving and regenerating ground cover. And they require far less food and water than most other fiber-producing livestock.

Alpaca fleece grows naturally in a wide variety of shades, from ivory and brown to grey and black. It comes in different grades – we use Imperial Alpaca, which is in the top 0.1% for fiber finesse.

Compared to other animal fibers it also has a very low grease content, which significantly reduces the amount of energy and water required to wash the fleece. It is gently sheared by the farmers we work with, spun into yarns in the city of Arequipa in Southern Peru, and then sent to our knitting workshop in Lima.

For more than a million small farmers in the central Andes, alpacas are both a vital livelihood and an integral part of their cultural identity. We are proud to support these traditional smallholder practices.

Close-Knit

Since we launched in 2013, we’ve worked with a small, like-minded team who take care of our alpaca knitting. Led by a husband and wife who hail from the Peruvian highlands and have nearly 50 years’ experience in the textile industry, they share our core values – dedicated to producing work of the utmost quality and continuously seeking to improve it.

The experienced seven-person team works with a combination of new technology such as best-in-class knitting machines, and traditional hand-finishing techniques that many have learnt through their families.