ALPACA FIBER FROM THE TEXTILE POINT OF VIEW
by Mike Safley

Once Alpaca fleece is in the bag, what is it worth? The textile manufacturer couldn't care less whether the fleece available for sale came from a prize winning stud or the herd's ugly duckling. Understanding what qualities the buyer desires most is the key to getting maximum value from Alpaca fiber production.

All natural animal fibers fall into one of two categories, carpet or apparel. Carpet is coarse, apparel is fine. Apparel fiber is more scarce than carpet fiber and sells for considerably more money, per unit of measurement, on the international market.

The textile market is dominated by sheep's wool. All other animal fiber, including Alpaca, is known as "specialty fiber." The results of processing trials conducted by fiber experts Bray, Long, and Van Bergen rated "mean fiber diameter as the most important quality of sheep's wool immediately affecting its value for manufacturing purposes." These studies described the relative value given to various fiber properties as follows:

According to Van Bergen and Lang, the reason fineness impacts price is due to its effect on a yarn's "spinning limit," which means that, at any given count of yarn, the finer the fiber, the greater number of fibers in a cross section. This, in turn, leads to a more uniform yarn diameter, greater yarn strength, and greater softness of handle.

Soft garments which can be worn next to the skin are the most expensive. Cashmere, with its soft, seductive feel, sells for high dollars in exclusive shops. Why is cashmere always soft and wool often itchy? Fiber fineness.

Over 30% of American consumers surveyed claim to be allergic to wool. These same people can wear cashmere or Alpaca with no adverse reaction. The International Wool Secretariat and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Australian research organization, with its wool technology and animal production divisions, were extremely concerned by the perception that wool commonly causes allergic reactions.

Extensive research has identified the cause of this so called "allergic" reaction by consumers who wore wool. The research began by administering common tests for allergies. This involved grinding wool to a fine consistency, suspending it in liquid, spreading it on the "allergic" consumers and pricking their skin with a needle. The result was that consumers, originally thought to be allergic to wool, did not react.

What was finally found to be the cause of this perceived allergic reaction to wool? Fiber diameter. The "prickle factor" was guilty; the coarser the fiber, the more severe the "allergic" reaction.

Researchers found that coarse hairs, extending from the yarn or fabric, prick the skin and stimulate the pain receptors, thereby causing redness, irritation, and itching. Once fiber diameter was identified as the culprit, studies were done to decide at what mean diameter prickle occurred.

Fiber that averages 21 micron or less tends not to prickle. Fiber with a "coarse edge" of fiber over 30 microns almost always itches. Yarns that contain more than 5% fiber over 30 microns often create garments that only fleas could love.

Consumers, who previously claimed to be allergic to wool, experience no negative reactions as long as the average micron count of the woolen garment they are wearing does not exceed 21. Further research has conclusively proven that any fabric which is made of any fiber (man-made acrylic or even hair from cashmere goats) averaging more than 21 microns causes pain on the skin or "prickle" and the so-called allergic reaction previously described (See the attached diagram).

Alpaca is no exception. It's no coincidence that Alpaca graded "baby" averages 21-22 microns and costs almost twice as much as any other grade of Alpaca. Coarse Alpaca itches. Fine Alpaca feels smooth and silky next to the skin. The "prickle factor" is why fiber diameter is by far and away the most dominant value affecting fiber prices.

McGregor is a senior scientist with the Victorian Department of Agriculture in Australia, specializing in improving the production and quality of specialty animal fibers. He wrote an extensive article for Alpacas Australia, issue 13, 1995, entitled Alpaca Fleece Development and methods of Assessing Fibre Quality. His article ranked, in order of importance, the qualities of Alpaca fleece that processors have valued over many years, as follows:

1. Fiber diameter
2. Fiber length
3. Fiber color
4. Freedom from contamination
5. Degree of medullation

McGregor does not include tensile strength as a quality affecting value. The strength of Alpaca fiber is so superior to other natural fibers, such as wool, that it is not even considered an issue in pricing.

Maximum prices are paid for fine "baby" Alpaca up to mean fiber diameters of 22 microns. Prices decline rapidly above 22 microns, with an average decline in price of 7% per 1 micron increase in fiber diameter up to 27.5 microns. In some years prices stabilize above 27.5 microns, but in other years the prices decline further as the micron count increases.

Another fact about relative fineness to keep in mind is the difference between Suri and Huacaya. Suri fleece is very rare and often attracts a premium, even at higher micron counts. There is some debate in the Alpaca community about which animal produces the finest fiber -- Suri or Huacaya. Some people believe Suri is coarser than Huacaya, however, the answer is probably neither. "The intensity of genetic selection and the environment will dictate the average micron count for a given herd," says Don Julio Barreda, "Suris can be either finer or coarser than Huacaya."

The fact is that Suri of similar micron count to Huacaya will "handle" better or feel finer. This is due to the scale structure of Suri. It is slick and sometimes feels finer. The scale structure is also why Suri has a wonderful luster.

Huacaya can be spun either as a woolen or worsted. Suri is spun almost exclusively as worsted. Huacaya can be knitted into sweaters or woven into cloth. Suri is used exclusively in cloth, such as gabardine. The bottom line is that Huacaya and Suri are simply different -- not better or worse.

In addition to fineness, Alpaca fiber's staple length is also important. Length commands a premium in the market. This is because length increases the manufacturers' ability to spin finer and stronger yarns for weaving. But McGregor concludes that "Markets usually discriminate against length to a lesser degree than fiber diameter."

The best way to increase uniformity is to reduce average micron count. A finer fleece has less standard deviation. This is just another reason why micron count is the primary determinant of fiber's sale price. It is also why I breed for fineness at Northwest Alpacas.

The pricing of wool or fleece at sales in Australia is not made based on fiber diameter distribution (FDD) or uniformity because it can not be accurately measured in large sale lots. There is too much variability from one fleece to the next. Furthermore, textile manufacturers almost always combine fiber from several lots to make tops. They purposely mix fiber with various micron counts, strength, and length to create a top that meets a certain specification. Some wool sales in the U.S. take standard deviation into account and prices are discounted if the SD is too high.

There is, however, considerable research which establishes that a more uniform fleece is more "spinnable." A fleece with a co-efficient of variation that is 5% less than a fleece of comparable micron will spin a yarn that performs and feels as if the fleece is one micron finer. In the future, uniformity may attract a price premium and at Northwest Alpacas, we select for it.

The most dramatic evidence of the influence of micron count on price can be found in the accompanying certificate of sale. Each kilogram in this single bale of sheeps fleece sold for $10,030.00 Australian. The entire bale of fine merino sheep wool sold to a Japanese textile manufacturer for $1,030,000.00 dollars. The fleece, the finest sheeps wool ever tested, averaged 13.8 microns.

Alpaca breeders need to recognize what the textile industry values if they are going to produce the highest value from their Alpacas. Manufacturers don't care how much fiber an individual animal produces. They purchase by the pound and micron count, not by the individual fleece. Breeders can make choices during their selection process to enhance value. These choices should not be made in a vacuum. Understanding the textile market is an essential part of raising valuable Alpacas.