Behind the Scenes of Campo Part 2: Operations

All yarn is bought from a woman-run business called Itessa. The women first sort the alpaca fur from high quality to low. The fur on the chest of an alpaca is the highest quality, called baby alpaca, and the fur on the legs is rougher, so it is used for different purposes. Then, the quality fur is washed, dried, combed, spun into alpaca tops, spun into yarn, and then dyed. 

 

How do the products from Peru get here?

The products are shipped to the United States by air on normal planes. To cut down on carbon emission costs, products are held and collected until they can be shipped in one shipment per year.

How do the workers get compensated in Peru?

There are two groups that work on Campo products and that are compensated. The owner of Millmachas named Milagros pays her employees. Some of her workers are paid hourly and some are paid per unit. There is also a group of women down in Arequipa known as the Chaska Collective that meet once a week and they decide how much product they plan to create each week. This flexibility allows them to take care of their families while generating income for themselves and their community.  Fair wages are a huge part of what Campo stands for, so we continuously work with our partners, perform audits, and make sure that all involved are paid fairly and are benefiting from this employment.

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