I read an article recently, “How America’s Middle Class Dug Its Own Grave” (by Sam Becker, 3/6/2016, cheatsheet dot com).
The gist of the article is that over most of the past 35 years, even as production and efficiencies have increased, wages for the United States middle class have remained stagnant. Blame has been placed on Wallstreet bankers, politicians in Washington and even on emerging economies on the other side of the planet.
However, “much like we are all afforded a voice in the political process, individuals have the ability to make their intentions known in an economic sense as well. Each dollar they spend is a vote of sorts in favor of a specific enterprise. Each dollar signals that there is demand for certain goods or services, so the economy will seek to produce a supply of those goods and services to match that demand.”
During a commencement address at the University of New Hampshire, Stony Field Farm CEO Gary Hirschburg said, “don’t forget that as consumers, we wield enormous power to choose the polluting, consumptive and failed ways of the past or the renewable and sustainable ways of the future”.
I just looked up on yarn dot com, the price for a 100% Alpaca yarn imported from Peru. A 50 gram skein is priced at $12.80.
Now, I did some number crunching on my own Alpaca operation and determined I can bring the same product to market, 100% Alpaca yarn, but made in Colorado for the price of $16 for a 50 gram skein. That is a 25% markup from the conventional Peruvian variety. Does that mean I’m “sticking it” to my customers and getting rich off them? What do you get for that extra $3.20 per skein?
The Alpacas80% to 85% of the world’s Alpacas live in the Andes mountain regions of Peru, Bolivia and Chile, most at 12,000 to 16,000 feet above sea level. This extreme elevation is the last plateau upon which man can survive, in fact, most people on Earth could not live at this altitude. These Alpacas are tended to by the native Indian peoples of this region, the Quechua and the Aymara.
The Alpacas, for the most part, are just out there. Subjected to the elements, the cold and wind, attacks by predators, poor forage and no medical attention. There is no fencing of course so males and females are not separated. Therefore, the females are kept in a constant state of pregnancy by the males and the babies (called cria) born in the winter months rarely survive. The cria mortality rate is very high, only some 30% to 40% make it to adulthood.
I lease a 20 acre parcel in Elizabeth, Colorado at about 6,700 feet. All my Alpacas have access to shelter and high quality orchard grass hay. I keep a strict policy of 5 to 6 Alpacas per acre of pasture to keep from overgrazing. A breeding strategy that only produces offspring between late May and late November. Livestock guardian dogs to protect from predation. Licensed Veterinarian medical attention when required. I have a 95% cria survival rate. All these things cost money. Money not spent on the Alpacas of Peru.
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***)Farm/Ranch LaborMinimum wage in Colorado in 2016 is $8.31. However anyone you could find to work for such a wage is usually more of a liability than a benefit. In reality I need to pay $12 to $13 per hour for honest, reliable ranch help. In Peru, Alpaca shepherds work for food.
“Quechua families are dependent on trade to supply most of their dietary needs outside of meat. Quechua women work year around creating fabric for trade in the lowlands. The men trade, making regular trips to exchange dried Alpaca meat, hides, fat, fiber and cloth for potatoes, barley, corn and quinoa. Money is rarely used on trading trips, but there are traditional exchange ratios: a certain amount of fat for so much barley, or a woven bag for an equal volume of corn ears. Barter values have not changed much over time. Inflation is an esoteric economic concept that has never invaded the sierra’s system of exchange, which is based on need, not profit.” (pgs 20-21, Alpacas: Synthesis of a Miracle, by Michael Safley, 2001)
Yarn ProductionThere are no environmental laws protecting clean air or water in Peru. Wastewaters from fiber scouring and the chemical dyeing processes are dumped untreated into rivers and streams, eventually making their way into the Pacific Ocean.
Working conditions in the fiber mills are often poor. Workers are paid pennies per hour. Child labor is often used.
Here in Colorado there are laws and regulations governing air and water pollution. Permits to purchase, taxes to be paid, labor laws and zoning ordinances must be followed. All these things cost money. Money not spent on yarn production in Peru.
TransportationAlpaca yarn manufactured in Peru must be transported to the United States for sale. It makes its way from Lima, Peru to ports in either Los Angeles (4171 miles), Houston (3124 miles) or New York (3635 miles). (Distances calculated by timeanddate dot com).
How much fuel does a container ship burn? This answer from a Merchant Marine Officer of 12 years writing for Yahoo Answers: “I just finished a job as an officer onboard a container ship and will give you what we burn in fuel. Our average day was about 500 miles, we burned about 320 tons of fuel a day. And after doing all of that secret nautical math it works out to about 255 gallons per mile.”
That means it takes about 1,063,605 gallons of fuel oil to get a container ship from Lima to Los Angeles.
According to an article from The Guardian (“Health Risks of Shipping Pollution Have Been Underestimated”, theguardian dot com, by John Vidal, 4/9/2009), “confidential data from maritime industry insiders based on engine size and the quality of fuel typically used by ships and cars shows that just 15 of the world's biggest ships may now emit as much pollution as all the world's 760 million cars. Low-grade ship bunker fuel (or fuel oil) has up to 2,000 times the sulphur content of diesel fuel used in US and European automobiles.”
“There are 90,000 ocean-going cargo ships.”
“Each ship expects to operate 24hrs a day for about 280 days a year.”
“Shipping is responsible for 18-30% of all the world's nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution and 9% of the global sulphur oxide (SOx) pollution.”
“One large ship can generate about 5,000 tonnes of sulphur oxide (SOx) pollution in a year.”
“85% of all ship pollution is in the northern hemisphere.”
“Pollution from the world's 90,000 cargo ships leads to 60,000 deaths a year and costs up to $330 billion per year in health costs from lung and heart diseases.”
ConclusionNow assuming you live here in the United States, would you rather purchase Alpaca yarn made in Colorado, processed by a Colorado fiber mill, from fiber of Colorado Alpacas, who eat Colorado hay? Keeping jobs here in Colorado?
ORWould you rather be the cause of Alpaca and native Indian exploitation in Peru, grossly undercompensated child labor in fiber mills and significant air and ocean pollution just to save a few bucks?
From my calculations, if you purchase a 50 gram skein of Alpaca yarn made in Colorado, here’s where your $16 goes:
$3.49 to hay
$7.45 to room & board for Alpacas
$0.51 to shearing expenses
$0.18 to fiber micron testing (also done in Colorado)
$4.35 to fiber mill (yarn processing)
$15.98 total ($0.02 profit)
I’ve asked this question to a number of friends and relatives and they all seem to think that your typical American would rather just save the $3.20. And then they wonder why jobs are leaving the country, the American middle class is disappearing and why the environment is going to hell. Vote with your dollar.
Please Visit Additional Alpine Ranch blog posts:
Superfine Natural FibersThe Making of a Cornerstone Foundation Female, A 12 Year JourneyTop 10 Reasons to Get Started with Alpacas in ColoradoThe Best Natural FiberAlpacas at Alpine Ranch is the home to 50+ huacayas. Breeding quality Alpacas since 2004, we specialize in Foundation Females, Starter Packages & Stud Services for sale. 27 miles S/E of Denver, 32 miles N/E of Colorado Springs, due east of Castle Rock off Hwy 86, located in Elizabeth, Colorado.