Peruvian Knitwear
Peruvian Knitwear, home to gorgeous knitted garments ethically produced in Peru from the famous fibre, alpaca, a luxurious alternative to cashmere. Alpaca is many times warmer than wool, lightweight and super soft. We offer beautiful clothing for women, children, babies as well as homewares.
The garments range from baby sleeping bags, vintage baby bodysuits, children's hooded jumpers, cardigans, ponchos and accessories - all machine washable; the ladies range is made with the luxurious baby alpaca fibre, from ponchos, swing cardigans, hooded cardigans, pashminas to accessories, and the homewares include gorgeous bright cushion covers and boucle throws.
Mumtrepeneur, Amanda Ruiz, who has set up the company, is married to a Peruvian, Manuel, who comes from the capital, Lima. When they had their first child, they were given lots of beautiful brightly coloured knitwear from relatives. The gifts were ponchos, chullos (earflap hats) and cardigans which were very widely admired because they are extremely versatile clothes, being very lightweight and warm and were different from the usual mass produced fare.
Peruvian Knitwear is a member of the IAA, International Alpaca Association – a non-profit Peruvian based organisation which actively promotes the alpaca fibre. The garments sold carry the IAA license, a hologramed tag which is an internationally recognisable symbol which certifies the authenticity and quality of the fibre.
Ethical Policy
Factory checks
We spend a lot of time putting together the collections in situ and this is an ideal way to see first hand how the factories work in an ‘unchecked’ manner as we personally visit the factories in Peru where our garments are produced. As we speak fluent Spanish, we talk with the artisans as they work on our pieces that we develop whilst out there based on conceptual and preliminary designs worked on prior to our visit. As the product development takes place over a few weeks, we see at first hand the working conditions, treatment of staff and gets a real feel for the factory environment. In addition, factory owners are interviewed on the working conditions.
Employee rights
The factories which supply Peruvian Knitwear pay their workers a fair wage and give them guaranteed rights, such as health care and pension.
Social and environmental
The work that is brought to the areas of manufacture benefits the communities as the income earned goes towards improving the living conditions of the artisans whose lives are often blighted by poverty, violence in the home and poor education.
The use of the alpaca fibre is environmentally-sound because up in the Altiplano (high mountain plateau of the Andes) at 3,000 metres and higher, nothing else grows - so the alpaca utilises land that is otherwise unusable. In this way it provides an income for communities who live just on or under subsistence levels and, has done so since time immemorial. Around 2,200 families are involved in alpaca farming above 3,000 metres - an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 people in all who, if not for this, would have no other means of earning a living.
Traditional skills
For thousands of years, weaving has played a central role in Peruvian society. During pre-Columbian times, textiles were the most sought-after trading commodity in the Andes. We design garments and homewares in contemporary styles and colours, (often taking Inca and traditional Peruvian colours and patterns as inspiration) where the artisans use traditional skills and techniques that have been passed down generations together with modern additions such manual knitting machines in order to create the beautiful handcrafted products.
Peruvian Knitwear is listed in the following categories
Clothing & Fashion / Children and babies clothesClothing & Fashion / Womenswear
Clothing & Fashion / Accessories
House & Home / Furniture, Textiles and Upholstery
