Vicuna--A Sweater Fit For The Sapa Inca

There's more variety to protein fibers than just wool & cashmere.  There's all kinds of different animals woolens can be produced from!  One of these is Vicuna, the hair from the vicuna animal of Peru.  Traditionally, vicuna in Incan culture was so valuable that it was only for the royals to wear.  Vicuna or Vicugna, is considered to be the finest and softest wool in the world at 12 micrometers in diameter--the fibers are only 70% as wide as cashmere and even better at trapping warmth.  It is so fine that normally, it is left its natural color for fear that dyes will ruin it.

Vicuna is a threatened species of camelid (camel!) native to Peru, Chile, Bolivia and other parts of South America, previously endangered.  What has allowed this species to come back from the brink is its wool.  The Peruvian government made it its national animal and came up with a scheme to bring both jobs to the locals and save the animal.  Once a year, the locals hold a Chaccu, a traditional shearing ceremony where the vicuna are rounded up, shorn and then released.  A vicuna can only be shorn every 3 years and there are specific standards for how long the hair can be in order to be shorn.  This system of only allowing vicuna wool to be harvested in specific situations and the ending of vicuna hunting has allowed the species to bounce back and become a very valuable commodity to the community.  The practices that are currently being followed are considered sustainable and vicuna is an eco-friendly textile.

There are some things to beware of.  Despite the best efforts of the Peruvian officials and community, there is an illegal trade in vicuna.  Because of this, several countries have outright banned it and many require an official certificate that it was legally harvested.  Make sure that you purchase your vicuna from a legitimate source and try to stick to an established, reputable company like Loro Piano or Jacques Cartier yarns.  Also, if you really look closely at most of the items that come up when you search "vicuna"--you'll notice that they're not ACTUALLY made of vicuna, instead vicuna is just the name of the color.  Don't be fooled and get stuck with lamb's wool!  The high price of vicuna is worth it!

Pictures from Livanti Alpacas and The Guardian

You may also be interested in my prior posts about Qiviut and Ramie

Qiviut: Cashmere From An Ancient Goat

I don't think that most people realize it, but cashmere is from a Mongolian goat.  Most people don't like goats--they smell, they scavenge, they don't always make the best pets.  But, their hair is amazing.  There are many different kinds of goats and several of these produce hair that is worth wearing.  The most sought after is hands-down musk ox hair.  The traditional name for it is "qiviut".  The musk ox is basically a giant goat left over from the last Ice Age.  It dwells in northern arctic regions like parts of Alaska and Canada.  It is endangered due to over hunting.  It is not endangered because people like to make scarves from its hair, like some websites suggest.  The opposite is true--it is its hair that has proved to be its saving grace.

One of the key theories involved in saving endangered species is to figure out how to make them "economically necessary" to save.  Since the musk ox makes hair that is of even higher quality than any cashmere, some researchers have taken it upon themselves to figure out how to collect the hair, produce goods from it and then market it to the public.  One of those is The Musk Ox Farm where musk ox are bred and their hair is humanely collected for use by native Alaskans.  The hair is either combed off of the oxen or collected off of the ground when it is shed.  No musk oxen are harmed in the process.  Once the hair is collected, it is distributed to people in the Oomingmak Cooperative where they spin the hair into yarn and then knit it into products.  After that, the goods are collected by the Cooperative and then sold.

Qiviut has proven to be ounce for ounce the most expensive wool on the planet.  That isn't due to some sort of marketing gimmick--it is because it is the highest-quality wool on the planet as far as hair diameter, warmth-retention and shrink-resistance.  Due to the Endangered status of the animals, not very much of the hair is collected for commercial purposes each year, so due to the supply being so small and the demand so great, the price is rather steep.  But, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for."

As a result, one of the only places to buy Qiviut products is from The Oomingmak Cooperative Store.  What makes shopping from them so cool is that their goods are made by Native Alaskan artisans, so their prints are traditional ones that can't be found anywhere else.  Not only are they producing stylish, unique items but it also allows families who chose to maintain their traditional lifestyle to do so.  Knitting qiviut is a traditional craft and the Cooperative helps make this traditional art economically important enough to keep it going, which in this modern age is something that is socially and culturally essential.  The patterns that they use might be otherwise forever lost to the world if the Cooperative hadn't been established.  One of my favorite patterns is on a scarf--it is a very old pattern that has been found on hunting spears.  Its pretty and I like it.

I always hear people complain that fashion is shallow.  No, it isn't.  Buy a scarf and help save an endangered species and an endangered way of life.

Top picture from Jungle Noises, Bottom Picture from Oomingmak Cooperative

For my post about mohair, click HERE