I came across the lovely Peruvian Esly at the North Sydney Markets where she had a stall with imported alpaca clothing. I've spend a bit of time in Peru so was instantly drawn to her stall for nostalgia's sake initially but then I saw, and more importantly felt, the fine fabrics of the Alpa clothes. The most sweet and simple little girl's alpaca top was too much to resist until I saw the organic cotton crochet dresses for women (and then I completely forgot about my daughter's upcoming 1st birthday and the alpaca top I could buy her as a gift).
The material was so soft I tried two dresses on there and then and subsequently bought one. $60 is an outstanding price for an organic dress of this quality. Quite the greeny myself I enjoyed talking to Esly and hearing about her journey of discovering the debilitating impact the textile industry has had on our environment. Environmentalism is a relatively new concept for many South American's who have seen nature as a way out of economic slump but there are a lot of young people like Esly who are working at contributing to trade with eco credentials in check.
Alpa clothing also do jumpers, cardigans, scarves, slippers, singlets, men's clothing and hand made jewellery. Keep an eye on their website for their retail store opening soon. read more