Animaná is an ethical luxury knitwear brand that promotes the preservation of culture, arts and traditions from Patagonia and the Andes. This brand is a big believer in fair trade, local development and bringing added value and respect to the natural resources of the area where their products are made. Their main purpose is to give a voice to the local artisans and to preserve their culture by constructing a bridge between artisans and consumers.
Animaná works with raw materials from Patagonia and the Andes obtained from llamas and alpacas (who are domesticated), and from vicunas and guanacos who are protected species living in the wild. Every product is produced by the sustainable breeding of South American camelids in a way that is respectful to the environment. The camelids live organically and roam free in large pastures in the Andes and Patagonia. To make the wool, they are sheared through a process called “Chaku” where their manually trimmed with scissors. Patagonia’s native merino wool is an organic cotton offered in a range of natural colours. These fibres offer a wide range of colours ranging from white and light beige to intense blacks. The fibres are separated accordingly selecting only the finest ones, are cleaned, and then spun by skilled artisans who hand-dye them with pigments made from native plants – a traditional technique. The fibres are dyed in trays with hot water to later be drained off and left to dry in the sun. As a result, each item maintains the uniqueness and quality of each individual fibre. Natural fibres are an excellent renewable resource, being 100% biodegradable and carbon neutral!
The spinning is defined according to the the composition of the product, whether it is made from 100% alpaca or a mixture of other cottons or natural mixtures. They look for uniformity in the fibres – colours, compositions, length etc. In order for the textiles to be wrapped, the thread are manually placed to form designs. Once they have been collocated on the loom the manual weaving begins where knots are made one by one with each thread – using about 1,500 threads all together!
For the weaving, the loom is placed according to the desired design. Pressing is then also done manually in order to eliminate imperfections in the product until it is perfect, rolled up, and ready for sale!
The brands products are made “under the principles of sustainability respecting the life cycle of the product using a cradle to cradle approach. This approach focuses on avoiding creation of waste and fragmented system of manufacturing and use, but instead enter everything in a regenerating cycle”. Animaná is in it for the long run – through green manufacturing, ancestral production techniques, the use of natural fibres, recycling and ecological use of materials.
Their products are stunning and timeless and the wool is incredibly soft and pleasant on the skin. I am not going to lie, I pretty much never want to take off this super cozy red sweater. I was going to say “because of this freezing cold weather”, but who am I kidding, I mostly want to keep it on because I am a little festive elf and the colour is just perfect!
To shop this gorgeous alpaca wool sweater in the UK head over to Ethical Collection, a lovely eco-luxury online platform showcasing one of a kind and ethical products from designers and artisans around the world.
Animaná also has a range of stunning shawls and throws in a diverse range of styles and colours which in the UK can be bought through the WOLF & BADGER.
To treat yourself or a loved one to some cozy warmth this season you can also browse and shop on their website
eur.animanaonline.com
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Literally Nataly 
Great post! I hope you are getting into the holiday spirit 🙂
To kick off the holidays I would liek to invite you to the Festive Feelings Blog Party happening this Saturday. https://scaleitsimple.com/2016/12/02/your-invite-festive-feelings-blog-party/
I hope to see you there! Cheers!
Thank you so much x
Lovely photos! I really like that sweater. Thanks for sharing and have a great week 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂 x
This jumper looks fantastic!
Thank you so much lovely x