In case you don’t know what that brown Muppet in the picture is, it’s an alpaca. Her name is Bell.

Working for hessnatur for so long gave me a great insight into natural fibers, including alpaca, but I’ve only come across the actual animals in zoos until now. I neither spin, nor knit, so I thought I would join in on Alpaca Farmgirl’s Fiber Arts Friday by finally visiting the Happy Valley Alpaca Ranch, one of our local alpaca farms. Mike and Linda were great hosts, introducing my family and I to their herd as they were family themselves. And that they were. I soon discovered that I could recognize each animal not only by their color, but also their behavior, body language and even “facial expression”.

In general, alpacas have curious, cat-like personalities. Happy Valley’s herd is quite active, engaging in their own form of bumper-cars every evening for the fun of it. It surprised me that they bear young for almost a year before giving birth to just a single cria (baby alpaca). Apparently, the animals can adapt to live just about anywhere, and are very gentle on their environment.

Linda said she gets about three to six pounds of fiber from each fleece, shearing them once a year with a specialist who shears the animals freely standing (which creates a lot less stress for the alpaca). Alpaca fiber is not only snuggly, silky soft, it is also hollow, making it extremely warm. Although the white alpacas produce the finest and densest fleeces, and they are the best for dyeing, I personally like the earthier colors. Alpacas produce about twenty two variations of natural color all on their own!

It’s neat to see the enthusiasm revolving around alpaca fiber. “Chasca” has created some very visually interesting yarns, even working cria fiber into them, which is apparently quite difficult. “Froggy” shares a contraption to avoid tangled yarn while reusing/recycling at the same time. And “Wonder Why Gal” has given me inspiration to recall my grandmother’s lessons in crocheting and get to work again, myself!

As awareness of organic cotton grows, the impact of organizations dedicated to promoting it become more visible.  The World Congress of Organic Cotton takes place this year from September 21-24 in Interlaken, Switzerland.  It is part of the United Nations declaring 2009 the Year of Natural Fibres.

The theme of the Congress, “From Fashion to Sustainability” identifies the profound change that is happening in the fashion world.  No longer is fashion just “clothing of the moment”, instead  it plays a critical role is determining the health of our environment.

The Congress, sponsored by the Swiss NGO, Helvetas, has asked our CEO, Wolf Luedge, to deliver a keynote address regarding communicating and marketing sustainable and ecological fashion.

Everyone involved in the textile chain – from growing through manufacturing – will be part of the Congress.  Business leaders, technical experts, project managers, CSR and marketing specialists will be working together to identify solutions and innovations for cotton.

Cotton is the leading fiber grown worldwide.  Yes, it is natural, but that doesn’t mean it’s sustainable.  When conventional cotton is grown, tons of pesticides and other chemicals are used.  They not only harm the soil and the water, they also can destroy the health of the farmers and their families.  Fair Trade organic cotton represents only a tiny fraction of the worldwide cotton market.

Continuing to raise awareness of the importance of wearing organic cotton and other fibers is critical to our future.  The Congress provides a forum for all those who are committed to this goal.  We are all looking forward to it.