Why alpaca is the smarter wool * 11 things you didn't know about alpacas 
Did you know: While similar to sheep's wool, alpaca is warmer, not prickly and has no lanolin. Alpaca is hypoallergenic and comfortable to wear.
Here are the TOP TEN Alpaca Products that I love! I use them all.
Plus 3 NEW products I absolutely love, Love, LOVE!
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Why I love them: I have thicker calves and have never been able to pull socks up to my knees. They have just enough give to make this possible. I wear them camping, under my jeans, with my pajamas and they fit nicely in my boots. |
2 |
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"AlpacaTrax" Gripper Slipper Alpaca Socks Why I love them: We have wood floors and it gets a bit chilly in the winter at our house. I love having toasty warm feet and not slipping and sliding on the wood floors is a bonus.
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3 |
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Why I love them: I wore these for the first time in Pennsylvania at an alpaca show. It was really, Really, REALLY cold! The first day I didn't wear them and I was miserable. The second day I tried a pair. I was so nice and comfortable! I love them!!! (did I say that already?) |
4 |
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Why I love them: We got our first blanket in 2013 on our Alpaca Trip to Ecuador. Whenever we get a new product Brian tells me to "test it and abuse it". I take my job seriously. We've made this blanket our camping blanket. I've washed it at least 50 times and dried it. It's STILL in awesome condition! It's kept me warm on many a cold night!! I also have one of these alpaca blankets on the bed in our guest room and two on our king bed (someone in our family is a blanket hog). :) |
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Why I love them: Commercial Dryer Sheets have a LOT of chemicals in them. Luckily Alpaca Dryer Balls do not! They reduce drying time, soften your clothes and you can add essential oils to them if you like. Plus they are good for the environment!!! Win-Win |
6 |
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Why I love them: I love all things alpaca! Not only is alpaca fiber wonderful, alpacas are so cute!! I've made cookies with my cookie cutters, but my favorite was when Brian packed us a picnic and made Alpaca Sandwiches! Alpaca Cookie Cutters, not just for cookies. Hungry? Alpaca Sandwich!! |
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Alpaca Work/Play Fingerless Alpaca Gloves Why I love them: In the winter we spend a lot of time in the cold. The fingerless feature of this gloves allows me to type, text, play on facebook :) and still stay warm. Proudly Made in the USA |
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Why I love them: Because they are so cute! All of the ornaments on my tree are special to me! Every Christmas I enjoy the memories as I unpack and place them on our tree. Plus, I love when our alpaca products have a mission! Our Whimsical line of alpaca products does just that: "Working Together for Good" toward helping craftspeople in villages of Thailand earn a living wage, supporting families and sustaining villages. |
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Alpaca Felt Shoe Insoles / Inserts Why I love them: We go to alpaca shows and almost always we spend a few days standing on our feet on very cold cement. I put a pair of our alpaca felt shoe insoles in my boots and they give me added comfort. Helping to prevent the cold from seeping in and I like the nice cushion of softness! This natural alpaca fiber shoe insert grown and crafted in the USA will keep you WARM - from the bottom up! |
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"PacaBuddies" Stuffed Alpaca Toys Why I love them: Every year we add a few new Pacabuddies to our "herd". Jax and Lovey travel with us and love to post photos on instagram #jaxandlovey They make great gifts for the alpaca lover in your life.
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This year we got a bunch of new alpaca products and I found some new favorites. I still love my top TEN and couldn't decide on 3 to drop, so I am officially making my list a TOP THIRTEEN! |
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Why I love them: They are sooooo cute and comfortable and they feel wonderful! I actually threw away all my cotton socks and exclusively wear these socks year round. (unless it's cold then I wear my knee-hi alpaca socks). |
| 12 |  |
100% Alpaca Pom-Pom Channel Beanie Hat
Why I love them: It's warm! It's cute! It's Soft! It's Cute! The brown one matches my Alpaca Watching Sweatshirt! |
| 13 |  |
Why I love them: It's a busy time of year and It's so easy to just throw my hair up into a messy bun. This hat allows me to keep my hair up without looking like I have a conehead. It's fashionable, warm and cute! |
Merry Christmas! -Paula
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We all care about the environment to some extent. Each of us has our own ways of showing it, but most of us would like to show that we care to ourselves if not also others. There are different ways of demonstrating your eco-friendliness. Maybe you separate your recycling or purchase eco-friendly groceries with non-polluting packaging. Perhaps you help your employer with their Adopt-a-Highway efforts every year, or have your own stretch of clean highway? Maybe you donate to the Audubon Society or other groups and enjoy the membership.
However you otherwise choose to give back, consider becoming a more eco-friendly clothing shopper. Not only can you help the Earth with your eco-friendly shopping, you can help yourself to become a healthier person.
What is Eco-Friendly Shopping?
Eco-friendly shopping doesn't mean that you have to stop buying meat, or live an austere life in order to save the planet. In most cases, it doesn't involve anything more than a slight shift in shopping habits, and in turn you help your family to live a healthier lifestyle.
Eco-Friendly Clothing
One way of becoming a more eco-aware shopper is to buy eco-aware clothing. Consider the many benefits of alpaca. Alpaca fiber is an awesome eco-friendly material that everyday people use and love, perhaps without completely realizing the scope of its personal and environmental healthy difference. Alpaca sweaters, alpaca scarves, and alpaca wool socks keep people warm in winter throughout the world. Luxurious alpaca blankets adorn many a bed and living room couch. Alpaca coats and wraps give one the look of fashionable comfort. They are beautiful quality products from one of the most earth-friendly animals out there.
Why the Alpaca?
What makes the alpaca so Earth friendly? The alpaca is a natural when it comes to conservation, pollution reduction and sustainability. First and foremost, the alpaca produces a pollution free fiber which they will gladly share with you as they are shorn (without harm) annually.
Alpacas, which have been determined to be the world’s oldest domestic livestock, are happy to give up their thick annual growth of dense, warm and luxuriously soft fiber as spring turns into summer. Picture how uncomfortable you would be wearing the equivalent of 3-4 heavy winter coats in mid summer! The newly naked alpaca will be bounding with springtime joy and energy after their thick fleece has been claimed for a new alpaca sweater, scarf or socks.
Alpacas are South American in origin and are very distant relatives to camels. You’ll notice this when you see their unusual running style, their “cush” sitting position, and more. It’s also evident in the lower amount of water they consume. The 160 lb average alpaca eats less per pound and their efficient 3-stomach digestive system metabolizes grass and hay more efficiently than nearly all other livestock.
Alpacas actually “cut” the grass with their unusual front incisor teeth rather than chewing it, and the roots, out of the ground like some other livestock.
Their lightweight, soft two toed foot (no hoof) is soft on the ground which reduces soil damage. Also, the other alpaca byproduct, “PacaPOO” is pH balanced and an excellent, natural, slow-release low-odor fertilizer.
The conservation continues even more so after the fiber is shorn from the alpaca. Unlike sheep wool which contains the allergen oil lanolin, alpacas are lanolin free. Lanolin is a type of thick oil which causes skin irritation in many people. It requires a harsh multi-stage detergent wash (read pollution) to remove it during processing. Not only do alpacas lack lanolin naturally, the fine and smooth nature of their resilient hollow-core fiber keeps prickly barbs from poking your skin.
Alpaca fiber comes in a whole array of colors naturally, and many alpaca products are available in natural colors. Alpaca also dyes very well and takes color nicely from plant and other natural dyes so you don't have to worry about artificial dyes irritating delicate skin or causing more pollution.
Finally, one other key factor to consider is economic as well as environmental sustainability. Tens of thousands of alpacas are raised by thousands of small family farms and ranches throughout the country. Your alpaca apparel purchases support those family farms, the products industry they serve as they raise some of the cutest, most colorful livestock you will ever see.
With all this going for them you could say, “Alpacas are Saving the Earth, One Sweater at a Time!”
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By Brian Schieber
Brian Schieber is the owner of PurelyAlpaca.com, an online and catalog boutique of “Naturally Unique Clothing and Gifts” which are all about alpaca.
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