2024/2025 Alpaca Owners Guide

Once the fleece is collected, it needs to be graded and sort ed in a consistent manner. Then, a manufacturing plant must be specifically tooled to accommodate each stage of production. Finally, a strong marketing program is needed to promote the unique qualities of alpaca fleece to the domestic fashion and textile industries, as well as to consumers. One encouraging sign of a bright future for the commercial alpaca industry in North America is the increased use of alpaca by prominent fashion designers. Upscale retail firms regularly feature alpaca finished goods. Additionally, a virtually untapped market for alpaca may exist in home fashions and domestic

fabrics — where the durability of alpaca fiber can be exploited in a very stable, existing market. Steps are being taken by many talented and dedicated pro fessionals within the alpaca community to build the “pipeline” necessary for getting the annual fiber crop into the hands of those who need it (namely, designers in the fashion centers of North America and elsewhere). Combined with regional and national programs designed to increase public awareness of alpacas and alpaca end-products, the future looks very bright for owners, for fiber artists, and various subsidiary industries throughout North America.

68 | ALPACA OWNERS GUIDE 2024/2025