Friendly Alpaca Fur

What is "Friendly Alpaca Fur"

All teddy bears, figures, and other fur products offered by Inca Fashions® are lovingly handmade in Peru from Friendly Alpaca Fur.

Friendly Alpaca Fur means that alpacas are never harmed to gain their fur or pelt.

In Peru, alpacas are raised so that their fleece can be shorn year after year providing a dignified livelihood for ranchers, their families, and their workers.

Culturally, Peru has a significantly different perspective about raising alpaca and husbandry, than we do here in the United States. Veterinarian services are rare and too expensive for most Peruvian alpaca ranchers. So they do their own care, and they are quite good at it. Still, they incur more natural losses of their animals than breeders in the U.S. Some of this is by design. Peruvian alpaca breeders are looking for the strong “macho” alpaca to achieve maturity, in order to create a strong herd for the future. This is why they offer very little preventative care for young alpacas.

Sometimes young animals die naturally due to sickness, extreme weather changes, genetics, or an accident. This is a costly loss to the rancher. He minimizes his loss by using the alpaca for food and through a rigorous certification process (to insure natural causes), its pelt is made available for friendly alpaca fur products.

Alpacas are always most valuable when they are alive growing their soft fleece! That’s what all alpaca breeders strive for. Nothing makes an alpaca rancher happier than to see their crias achieve maturity to become successful providers of fiber and future alpacas.

By choosing one of our friendly fur products you are supporting our alpaca farming families. Sales from our products give these indigenous people, our friends, the ability to stay in their homes and native land. Importantly it helps them with improved medial and educational opportunities, as well as the ability to keep their families together, preserving their preferred way of life instead of having to leave home to support their families financially, which can be devastating for Andean clans.

We all thank you for your support!