Why alpaca is the smarter wool * 11 things you didn't know about alpacas 
Alpaca is an excellent Natural insulator. With it's smooth, strong, hollow and water-repellent fiber structure, alpaca naturally insulates while wicking away moisture... keeping you warm, dry and comfortable (see "Alpaca, the Smarter Wool").
No need to be cold when you treat yourself to warm alpaca!
Learn more about alpaca fiber characteristics / features here:
* Real - alpaca is 100% natural fiber from adorable animals
* Kind - alpacas are not harmed during their annual "haircut"
* Semi-Hollow Fiber - Naturally a great insulator
* Heat Active - Alpaca is warm even if it get wet!
* Hydrophobic - alpaca deflects water naturally
* Moisture Wicking Fiber - keeps you dry and comfortable
* Odor Resistant - anti-microbial and odor resistant!
* Non-Allergenic - healthy for you and yours
* Non-Itchy - naturally smooth and comfortable fiber
* Eco-Friendly - alpaca fiber processing is non-polluting
* Strong - alpaca is lightweight yet is solid and durable
* Luxury - alpaca looks and feels wonderful on you!
We ride motorcycles a lot! In all kinds of weather.
Tomorrow we are going on a motorcycle trip to Big Bear, California. The high is supposed to be 52 degrees. BUT I wont be whining! What I will be doing is wearing alpaca! Lots and LOTS of Alpaca! Good thing I know where to get amazing alpaca products. :)
Did you know: While similar to sheep's wool, alpaca is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic and comfortable to wear.
Here are our TOP TEN Alpaca Products to help you stay warm this winter!
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"Superwarm" Heavy Extreme Alpaca Socks Have you asked... |
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"OutdoorAdventure" Alpaca Sock The OutdoorAdventure alpaca socks are the ultimate in comfortable alpaca warmth for the feet! Designed to be the warm, comfortable heavy alpaca socks ready for action! |
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Solid Weave Brushed Alpaca Scarf Available in multiple colors this unisex Solid Weave Brushed alpaca scarf offers a soothingly warm brushed baby alpaca surface in a classic alpaca scarf style which works with nearly any outfit! |
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Cuddle up under our wonderfully warm and beautiful brushed alpaca bed blankets. A simple, functional item, put this blanket between the top sheet and comforter and enjoy a great increase in warmth! Makes a great soft couch cuddle blanket! Tested and proven :) |
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Very Popular Alpaca Hiking Socks!These field socks have a great look, feel and performance which has been proven over many years to be very popular and a best seller. Comes in classic hiking style. Look great in hiking shoes or birkies. The medium weight and good fit makes for a nice stylish hike through the Andes or your back yard. |
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Classic Knit Fishermans Alpaca Hat Once considered for the old salt, these unisex Classic Knit Fishermans Alpaca Hats are quite in again. Classic style of heathered color, with alpaca elegance, comfort and warmth. Made from 100% Alpaca. |
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Adult Brushed Knit Alpaca Chullo with Ear Flaps Knit alpaca chullos ("Choy-ohs") with ear flaps are great for staying warm and looking cool. Great on the slopes, a perfect ski hat or snowboarding hat. Stylish South American design. Each of these alpaca hats has a unique, varied patterns. |
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100% Alpaca Work/Play Alpaca Gloves The USA alpaca farm who makes these gloves and sells them at numerous venues says, They have a particularly strong following among hunters, fisherman and farmers of all types. Some have reported wearing them as a liner INSIDE another glove for an extreme warmth combination, smart! |
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Alpaca Felt Shoe Insoles / Inserts This natural alpaca fiber shoe insert grown and crafted in the USA will keep you WARM - from the bottom up! |
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Bolivian Brushed Pattern Full Fingered Alpaca Gloves These alpaca gloves are delightfully soft both in look and feel. Funky fun. Simple elegance. A soft and warm rustic glove. Also available in Fingerless... |
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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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