Merino wool’s popularity as a performance apparel fiber has grown to (woolly) mammoth proportions in recent years. Given the considerable list of benefits the specialized sheep fur offers—moisture-wicking properties, odor-resistance, thermoregulation, and built-in ultraviolet protection—it’s easy to see why.

But merino sheep aren’t the only mammals boasting magic wool. Alpaca fur has all those advantages and it’s hypoallergenic, as soft as cashmere, and a lighter weight than merino, says Kris Cody, founder of Boulder-based Paka Apparel. That’s a big reason why he chose it as the hero ingredient for his line of natural, breathable, and snuggly soft outdoor apparel. The other reason? He wanted to create a bridge between consumers and what they consume. “Paka is a brand that’s bringing alpaca fibers to the outdoor industry,” Cody says, “but it’s really about setting a new standard and narrative for the clothing industry to connect people back to what they wear.”

When Cody stumbled upon his first alpaca garment in January 2015, he knew the basics about merino’s benefits (his dad had a sheep-shearing side hustle) but almost nothing about alpaca wool. Just 19 years old at the time, he was taking a year to explore and work in South America before pursuing a neuroscience degree at the University of Virginia. Walking through the main plaza of Cusco, the gateway city to Machu Picchu, his eyes snagged on a tan alpaca wool sweater. The color caught his attention, but it was the feel he’ll never forget. “I couldn’t believe how soft and light it was,” he remembers. “I’d never touched anything like that.”

As Cody continued his travels, he realized the sweater wasn’t just soft—though it did make an excellent impromptu pillow on long bus rides—but also the layer had serious performance chops, too. No matter what South American biome he encountered, the sweater kept him comfortable. “This animal has evolved in this climate where you freeze and burn to death in the same day,” Cody says of alpacas, which are indigenous to the Peruvian Andes Mountains, “so the fiber innately is able to regulate temperature and breathe.”

A herd of alpacas in Peru. Photo courtesy of Paka

When Cody returned to the United States, he got compliments on the sweater—a lot of compliments. He realized that people were familiar with merino wool and cashmere (which comes from a goat), but not as well acquainted with alpaca fleece. Cody also recognized a gap in his own understanding about the Quechua people that he had bought the sweater from and how they made it. “There was no business plan,” he says of his decision to buy a one-way ticket back to Peru in May 2016. “It was really just following my curiosity for where this amazing fiber came from.”

Weaving a Business Plan

In Cusco, Cody reconnected with the artisan, Gregoria Chaski, and asked to learn more about her process, materials, and culture. Chaski and her family taught him about the careful way to weave the alpaca fiber, what plants provide the most vibrant raw dyes, and how to meaningfully recreate ancient Inca design—a nod to Cusco’s history as the heart of the Incan Empire. Together, they worked on creating sweaters to sell in the United States. “That was really the genesis of how we started spending more time working on prototypes in her kitchen.”

Over the next three months, the pair, with help from another local family of weavers, designed a new sweater, one with an aesthetic that would appeal to an American consumer (simple silhouette, clean lines, and earthy tones) while still honoring and preserving the traditions of ancient Inca culture. They refined these initial iterations with the help of hikers heading out on their four-day trek to Machu Picchu. In exchange for a free sweater, Cody asked for candid feedback on the garment’s fit and feel.

By the time Cody returned to Virginia for his sophomore year, he and Chaski had perfected the first product in the Paka line, aptly named the Alpaca Wool Sweater (now known as the Hoodie). Cody set up a website and launched a Kickstarter campaign with the hope of raising $20,000 in seed money. Within 35 days, he’d raised $347,378.

The Connecting Thread

The reason for that surge of support, Cody believes, is the brand’s authenticity. “We’re working alongside the locals—the alpaqueros [people dedicated to breeding alpacas] along with the weavers—making sure that we make the best product to make the most impact,” he says. “Then we connect people, the consumer, as close as possible to where things are made, who’s making them, and what they’re made of.”

Paka establishes that connection via multiple avenues. Each product preserves indigenous wisdom through the inclusion of an Inca ID, a handwoven fabric strip featuring traditional Quechua patterning. Garments also include a traceable alpaca QR code on the tag, so wearers can look up the exact coordinates where the fiber in their purchase was shorn; some even visit. “It blows my mind when we see people down in Peru who got a Paka sweater,” Cody says. “They learned about the culture through that garment.”

A Certified B Corporation, Paka also prioritizes empowering the people of Peru. It does this by contracting with more than 200 Quechua women to produce the garments—more than 95 percent of which are made entirely in Peru—and paying them four times their region’s standard living wage. Five full-time employees (of Paka’s 20 total) live in the South American country. “Our vendors and factories are growing with us big time,” Cody says. “The finances are going back into the country as opposed to exporting alpaca to make the garments in China. We’re trying to do as much as we can in Peru.”

A woman wears a Paka crewneck sweater. Photo courtesy of Paka

Additionally, Paka gives a minimum of one percent of its annual revenue to impact programs such as Peruvian Hearts, a nonprofit that supports underprivileged young women as they further their educations and pursue their ambitions. This year alone, Paka has helped 17 Peruvian women get full-ride university scholarships.

Nearly a decade after a single sweater changed the course of his life, Cody still spends at least three months of each year in Peru, working and learning alongside Paka’s team of artisans. The brand’s only brick-and-mortar store sits in Cusco’s historic district.

Last November, however, Cody uprooted the U.S. headquarters for his outdoor apparel brand from the Golden State to (where else?) Boulder. In addition to the fact that “it just didn’t make sense to sell alpaca sweaters in the fall in Southern California,” he says, “all the big outdoor brands are here. As we grow our team and culture, we’re in a great space of talented and outdoor-focused people.”

Growth is certainly a goal Cody has his eye on given his dreams of becoming “the next natural Patagonia,” he says. “I’m in this for decades.”

Three Paka Pieces to Try

The Hoodie
Made with royal alpaca fiber, dyed by hand, and signed by the female artisan who wove it in Peru, the Hoodie is the unisex sweater that started it all. $139

Men’s and Women’s Alpaca Underwear
Try these barely there essentials, which also boast antimicrobial, odor-resistant, and temperature-regulating properties. $38 for men’s, $26 for women’s

Crew Socks
Paka promises that these naturally odor-proof socks will be the softest you’ve ever worn. (They’re also available in traditional Inca and alpaca-adorned patterns.) $20