Alpaca fleece

Why Alpaca Fleece is Different to Competitor Fibres.

In March 1994 Peter Weiss, of Weiss Pringle fame, launched the Alpaca Centre's Fashion Parade at the Coolawarra Classic Auction.

Peter Weiss had this to say:

"That timeless natural fibre is light airy character and nearly weightless warmth makes it one of the most remarkable fibres in the world, it is a wonderful fibre for Australia because it can be used all year round".
Our research has shown that Coolawarra Alpaca fibre is silky-soft and very light owing to its unique structure. Under microscope it has a smooth, flat cuticle (surface scales of the fibre) that imbues it with the softness and feel of cashmere and is thus superior in quality to other competitor fibres such as Merino wool or cotton.

It's that same structure that gives Coolawarra bred Alpaca its unique handleability, its ability to maintain softness, whilst measuring microns or thickness, at higher levels than the equivalent softness in other fibres. This gives the fibre strength and flexibility for processing into a wide assortment of textured fabrics, adapting itself easily to the whims of fashion.

Whilst structurally very similar to cashmere with its softness and silkiness, the Coolawarra bred Alpaca, unlike the cashmere goat, grows a beautiful fibre over all its body shearing up to 4kg and with improved breeding techniques, 7-8kg annually. Exotic fibres such as vicuna and cashmere require a dehairing process, expensive and tedious and the net weight amounts to grams only.