The concept of value-adding to
our home-grown alpaca fibre is an important one for the future viability of the
Australian alpaca industry. It enables us to sell our fibre at a higher price,
and therefore provides a better return for our hard work and monetary input. It
also allows us to bypass the problems implicit in selling raw product on a world
market which is subject to wide fluctuations in price and demand.
The AACo-op provides the ideal
vehicle for the development of value-adding. The Co-op takes responsibility for
understanding the needs of our customers, for example in the yarn and garment
industries, where the requirements in quality, colour and fibre type and blend
are often extremely specific, and usually vary considerably depending on the
ideal characteristics of the final product. Market research and development
gives members a better understanding of the desirable (and undesirable!)
characteristics of alpaca fleece, which is a vital tool for the farmer in the
development of a financially sound breeding programme.
The AACo-op, along with its strategic partners in the manufacturing and wholesaling industries, is working to create an "Australian Alpaca" brand identity and logo which will be associated with concepts such as softness, warmth, luxury rarity, and durability in the mind of the consumer.
Co-operative
Products
The Co-operative's product range
ultimately aims to utilise the whole of our clip, and thus far has found
practical applications for a wide variety of alpaca fibre types.
Products such as luxury women's
and men's clothing (for example high quality lightweight knitwear, and fashion
accessories such as scarves) generally require our, finest softest and low
micron fibre.
Our medium- is used in our popular crew neck sweaters,
knitting yarns and socks and stronger-grade fleeces can be utilised with great
success in homewares such as doonas, pillows, underblankets, throw rugs, cushion
covers and carpets.
Other wearable alpaca products currently under production
include beanies, new socks and outdoor jackets.
Another exciting product for
craft-lovers is the range of knitting yarns developed with our strategic
partner, Tasman Designer Yarns. These include 100% alpaca yarns and blends, and
come in both plain and fancy yarn types (eg boucle).
The above products are all available in the latest fashion colours or stunning natural colours.
Research
& Product Development
The AACo-op, with the financial support of the Australian Alpaca Association, is currently involved in a number of projects which will have a positive impact on our value-adding effectiveness. These include:
i)
The setting up and dissemination of a
shearing, pre-classing and packing protocol, which will help to maximise the
return to the breeder by ensuring that each fleece reaches its market potential.
It will also minimize costly disruption to processing, which often occurs due to
inconsistency in the quality of the individual fleece (for example through
contamination with lower quality fibre and guard hair from the same or other
animals, or through carelessness with foreign bodies in the packing).
ii)
The establishment of the most suitable
classing lines (i.e. specific fleece characteristics and measurements for
specific applications) to maximize returns to breeders and to satisfy
processors' needs.
iii)
The investigation of the most efficient and
cost-effective way to scour alpaca fibre.
iv)
Research into the blending of alpaca with wool and other
precious fibres to create the best possible results in different applications
and products.
v) Research into dyeing of alpaca fibre into highly sought after fashion colours.
The above activities enable the AACo-op to enhance the
already remarkable attributes of alpaca fibre even further, and to maximise the
financial returns to our breeders.