It was 2020 when I started to play with an idea of high quality garments production made of natural fibers. I liked options given by wool so I wanted to start with merino wool. This material has many advantages. But of course there are also some disadvantages. I personally perceived as the biggest negative side of this material the fact that its modern processing makes it "artificial wool". During the production process, wool goes through many chemical processes, the "bath" in chlorine acids, the use of polyamides, etc. is no exception.
After some research of the other natural fibers I have found some interesting information about South American animals which live in Andes, high attitudes, does have wool too (like sheep but little different), but their wool outperforms sheep's wool. In clothing industry is well known for its' exclusivity and high quality. Yes - we are talking about ALPACAS. Their fiber is well knows in luxury garments industry for its high quality, durability, thermal properties and lustrous look. So as a base material in our products have been chosen alpaca wool. We use it as 100% pure, or as blend with some other natural fibers like GOTS ultrafine merino wool (made without using the processes mentioned above), silk, top class pima cotton and others.Every single sort of material has some pros and cons. That's reason, why we sometimes combine different kinds of natural materials in our products.
I have also decided that, in addition to natural materials, I will offer my customers not only quality, but also an uncompromising approach within responsible and sustainable production, responsible selection of suppliers who care to the working and social conditions of their employees. As next we take care about choosing best shipping partner who cares a lot about environmental aspect of their shipping services.
I am also very proud of our partners in Peru - responsible company, which cares about animal care, shearing process, technologies used for making yarns, their low impact on global environment.
By purchase of Andean Jewel products you can be 100% sure, that you get something, what was not made in conditions of “new age slavery” somewhere in south-east Asia, China, India or even North Korea.
We choose a completely different approach because it leads to better results.
Responsibly, ethically, eco-friendly grown, sheared and spinned in PERU.
Developed, designed and made in Slovakia, Europe.
Ján Hittrich - Andean Jewel founder