Despite their high quality, alpaca woolen products can be hard to find and are somewhat expensive. You are probably wondering: why is alpaca wool so exclusive?
Alpaca wool is exclusive due to its limited supply (with the majority of alpacas found in Peru and only being shorn once a year), its labor-intensive production process, and its high demand as a luxury fiber, which collectively drive up its value.
“One of the best fibers in the world…” And yet, alpacas haven’t taken over the (fashion) world just yet. Let’s find out why alpaca wool is still difficult to find and why it can be expensive.
The Limited Number Of Alpacas Worldwide: 87% Live In Peru
Alpaca wool is exclusive because it’s rare: most alpacas live in Peru.
Unfortunately, there is no exact number that can tell us how many alpacas there are. The most specific number I could find was from an article in a Peruvian agricultural newspaper, published in 2018 (Agraria). They stated that there are 3.6 million alpacas in Peru, which is 87% of the world’s alpaca population.
Yet, the alpaca population is on the rise and smaller numbers of alpacas can be found in:
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The United States
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The United Kingdom
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Australia
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Other countries in smaller numbers
Worldwide Alpaca Estimate
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So while alpacas are not endangered, they are very rare compared to other fiber-producing animals. Since most alpaca wool comes from Peru, it must travel far to reach your wardrobe.
This limited geographical distribution means that the wool is not widely produced in large quantities, which leads to restricted supply.
Limited Shearing and the Labor-Intensive Process
Alpaca wool is exclusive because the fiber is limitedly available. Alpacas can be shorn only once per year and the process is labor-intensive and requires specific skills.
Why Only Once a Year?
Moreover, shearing once a year is just the bare minimum; some alpaca breeders only shear their animals biannually!
The reason for this is that the hair needs to be at least 7 cm long in order to provide enough grip when it's turned into yarn. Alpaca hair is smooth, so it needs to be longer to create good quality wool.
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Alpaca hair grows about 7 cm per year
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This is the minimum length needed for spinning “grip”
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Shorter hairs can cause itchiness (which alpaca wool is known to avoid)
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Longer fibers improve softness and durability
Shearing Is Labor-Intensive
The production process is also quite labor-intensive. To start with, the shearing process is very hands-on work and requires experience to keep the alpaca safe.
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Requires 2–3 people per alpaca
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Takes 15–20 minutes per animal
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Must be done carefully to avoid injury
The process is not harmful for the animals, but it is important to maintain the alpaca completely still, so that it won’t get any chance to actually hurt itself instead.
After shearing, the wool needs to be sorted, cleaned, washed, dried and spun. While a lot of this is done industrially these days, some parts of the process still require the precision of the human eye and lots of time.
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Read more in my article: How Is Alpaca Wool Made and Is it Ethical?
Alpaca Wool Is a Luxury Fiber With High Qualities
Exclusive materials often come with lots of benefits. What makes alpaca wool stand out are its incredible natural qualities.
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Warm yet lightweight
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Soft and incredibly comfortable
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Breathable, which makes it perfect for layering
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Water-repellent and wind-resistant
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Hypoallergenic, so it’s suitable for those with sensitive skin
Luxury fibers share the characteristic of having many high qualities, naturally. Given that such qualities are only found in animals who live in unique circumstances, the number of animals that live in such environments is limited. This makes products made with such materials limited in return.
For example, alpacas live in high mountains, with rainy and windy environments, extreme cold, yet close to the sun—you name it. Mother Earth had to put in some hefty work to create this beautiful animal with such exquisite characteristics.
The result is an exclusive fiber.
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Check out the complete list I wrote here: What Are The Qualities of Alpaca Wool?
Luxury Fibers = High Demand + Limited Supply
Luxury fibers follow a simple mechanism of supply and demand: they are very high in quality but not super easily available. Since they’re rare and in high demand, their price tends to be higher.
Alpaca wool, however, is on the lower end of the high-quality luxury fibers price range: it’s more affordable than many other luxury fibers (like musk ox or vicuña), but still commands a premium price due to:
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Low supply
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High production effort
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Exceptional performance
Alpaca hits the sweet spot: the quality of the wool combined with limited availability results in a wool that’s premium, but not as expensive as its more rare counterparts.
Read my article Why Is Alpaca Wool Expensive? to find out more about why alpaca wool is (not) so expensive :)
