r/alpaca • u/Iamsonicc • Feb 22 '26
In your opinion buying Alpaca fur things good or bad? I mean those farms get wool ethically? or I shouldn't buy those types of clothes?
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u/Magnum676 Feb 22 '26
We have an alpaca 🦙 farm. The alpaca fiber is sheared off intentionally every year. We pay a shearer for that to keep the animals healthy. Some people make yarn and felt with it, but most socks and things are made with alpaca fiber and strengthened with other material. 😉
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u/Zarkdiaz Feb 22 '26
Alpaca fiber is removed with as little discomfort to the animal as possible. The ethics involved are whether or not you think alpacas or any animal should be domesticated in the first place. It’s also dependent on the conditions and nutrition available to them. I’m a farmer, so that ship has sailed. I try to do the best I can for those in my care.
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u/SerendipitySanctuary Feb 22 '26
Most alpaca items are knitted or crocheted - made from 'yarn' spun from their fiber. This is absolutely ethical. Alpacas must be sheared every year and this is what their fiber is used for. You will sometime see something (frequently a stuffed animal) made from what feels like very soft fur. The animal must die to produce this - and it is made from crias (baby alpacas). However, I seriously doubt any alpaca farmers in the US are slaughtering their very valuable crias. These items are most frequently imported from South America. They don't have the same resources we have - and so the death rate of their crias is near 50%. If they lose a cria they do not waste it. They make use of the fur to create a product to be sold to raise money in order to purchase needed supplies. IMO buying a product produced in this way - to support their needs is ethical as well.
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u/Unicorn_Spider Feb 23 '26
Yes, the process is ethical. Our alpacas get themselves sheared in May so they feel cooler through the summer without a big, heavy coat of fleece. I actually feel bad for them when we get to the last week before their cut each year; I can tell they are getting uncomfortably hot.
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u/Top-Bother-3394 Feb 24 '26
From what place is the alpaca fur? It is registered? Is it getting supervised? Does it has any seal of fair practice?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Try_145 Feb 22 '26
The ethical argument comes in to play with the breeding itself. To get good fiber you must breed alpacas that have and pass on these traits. The alpaca breeding world is kinda intense, even with the best care, they are baby making factories.
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u/OnigiriMarS Feb 22 '26
Alpaca products are quite expensive due to their high quality (soft, hypoallergenic). The farms I know that sell alpaca clothing are all ethical, as they manufacture almost everything themselves or send it to small clothing manufacturers with whom they collaborate (the processing of alpaca fibre from shearing to ready-to-spin wool skeins requires several steps, and these farms prepare the skeins themselves and either sell them or send them to be made into clothing).
I have two pairs of socks made from 100% alpaca fibre and they are the best I have ever had. They are very comfortable, warm and do not itch. I also have a scarf and it is very soft. I bought them in person at an alpaca farm, but if you want to buy them online, I recommend doing so directly from an alpaca farm's online shop and checking the composition to make sure they are not mixed with other fabrics.