PAKA Apparel makes eco-friendly, animal-friendly, sustainable clothing using fully traceable alpaca wool from wild-roaming alpaca in Peru. Here’s my experience with PAKA clothing, with tips for getting the right size.
Table of Contents
- PAKA Apparel Original Crew Sweater [Staff tested]
- My experience with the PAKA Original Crew sweater
- PAKA Apparel Tee
- How the PAKA tee performs
- Downsides to the PAKA tee and sweater
- What we like about PAKA Apparel
- PAKA and sustainability
- Final thoughts on PAKA Clothing
- PAKA Apparel Original Crew Sweater [Staff Tested]
- PAKA Apparel Tee
PAKA Apparel Original Crew Sweater [Staff tested]
Highlight: Blissfully soft alpaca crew neck sweater in three colors. Fully traceable yarn comes from wild-roaming alpaca and recycled nylon. Oeko-Tex approved dyes only.
- Yarn comes from wild-roaming alpacas in Peru
- Fully traceable and sustainable yarn
- Clothing made in Peru by local artisans
- Super soft, cozy, thermoregulating, and moisture-wicking
- B Corp and Good Ocean founding member
- Natural OEKO-TEX certified dye
- Raglan sleeves for full range of motion
- Minimalist, sustainable packaging and carbon neutral shipping
- Limited colors
- Potentially confusing sizing algorithm
- Not totally natural (but the nylon is recycled)
At a glance:
- Sizes available: XXS-XXL
- Key certifications: B Corp, GOTS, Oeko-Tex, EcoCart Carbon Neutral
- Price: $139
- Colors: Light grey, sky blue, eucalyptus
- Materials: 65% Royal Alpaca Fiber / 35% Recycled Nylon
PAKA Apparel’s Original Crew sweater feels unfathomably soft and light and looks fantastic. Mine garnered many compliments, which was great for spreading the word about PAKA and raising awareness of sustainability in fashion!
PAKA uses 65% alpaca fiber in 18-19 microns, making it soft enough to wear without an undershirt. It’s also super light, weighing just 10 ounces.
My experience with the PAKA Original Crew sweater
Unlike bulkier wool sweaters and my merino wool base layers, this lighter-than-merino sweater was lovely to wear by itself on cooler summer days. Thanks to alpaca wool’s thermoregulating properties, though, I’ve found the Original Crew sweater plenty cozy for colder weather too.
Thanks to the moisture-wicking properties, the Original Crew also fares well in light rain, which is pretty important for a sweater-lover in the Pacific Northwest rainforest region. Now we’re into October, I’m enjoying pairing this sweater with the PAKA tee and feel all set for the upcoming super cold winter days.
I also love that this sweater doesn’t have any scratchy seams or labels on the neck or sides. The only tags are right at the bottom, which should sit against your hip, rather than your skin. This is great if you have sensory issues and usually cut the tags out of clothing.
How the PAKA Original Crew performs
Other things I love about this sweater include its snuggle factor, which is great for cozying up with my kid. I also really appreciate how fast it dries and how well it resists stains and odors.
I often end up with sticky toddler fingers clutching at my clothing, which means I favor sweaters that are easy to wash and dry. This crew has managed to resist avocado and blueberry stains and when I have given small patches a spot-clean, it dried super fast, meaning I could go right back to wearing it after just a couple of hours!
I’m yet to put this sweater through the washing machine because it still feels and smells fresh even after weeks of wear.
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly sweater that also saves on water and energy by not needing washing very often, this is it!
Alpaca wool and the resulting fiber has many magical qualities. Not least of which is its ability to help you maintain a comfortable body temperature. After all, alpaca in the Peruvian Andes have to feel comfy in temperatures from 0-80 degree Fahrenheit!
Alpaca wool is also:
- Naturally antibacterial – meaning it’s anti-odor and doesn’t need washing very often
- Softer than cashmere and three times lighter than merino
- Thermoregulating
- Moisture-wicking and fast-drying.
Alpaca wool can hold eight times its weight in water; sheep’s wool can hold 20 times its weight. This means your PAKA sweater is a fantastic lightweight sweater for camping, hiking, and other outdoor adventures.
PAKA Apparel Tee
Highlights: Sublimely soft, super sustainable organic cotton and alpaca fiber tee that fits perfectly. Anti-odor, thermoregulating, moisture-wicking, and fast-drying. Lightweight and great for every season.
- Organic cotton and alpaca tee
- Alpaca yarn comes from wild-roaming alpacas in Peru
- Super soft and lightweight
- GOTS approved dyes only
- Six color options
- Minimalist, sustainable packaging and carbon neutral shipping
- Fully machine washable
- Potentially confusing sizing algorithm
At a glance:
- Sizes available: XS-XXL
- Key certifications: B Corp, GOTS, Oeko-Tex, EcoCart Carbon Neutral
- Price: $55
- Colors: six options
- Materials: 85% Organic Pima Cotton / 15% Royal Alpaca
I love a good black tee and the PAKA organic cotton and alpaca fiber tee does not disappoint. This tee immediately became my go-to for late summer and into fall and is now a favorite under my PAKA sweater too.
How the PAKA tee performs
The PAKA tee is lightweight at just 4 ounces, making it a great choice for camping and other adventures where space and weight are at a premium.
This tee is also delightfully soft, cozy, breathable, and thermoregulating. I hate overheating and I love that this tee keeps me cool and comfy even in hot and humid conditions.
It’s also anti-odor, thanks to the naturally antimicrobial alpaca yarn. I love that with this tee I can still feel fresh while also minimizing laundry! And because the fiber dries fast, it’s easy to give this tee a quick rinse (or get caught in a downpour) and still be able to wear it again later the same day.
Downsides to the PAKA tee and sweater
It’s hard to find anything bad to say about the PAKA clothing I’ve tried, but if I had to highlight something it’s the sizing.
I’m 5’6″ and usually fit a Small size for most tops. Strangely, the PAKA website’s algorithm suggests I should get a Large for the tee. After talking to a company representative, I ordered the Small instead. This fits me perfectly, sitting just at the waist of my pants on the scoop sides. I suspect the tee would be too short, though, for anyone who typically wears a small but is even slightly taller.
For the unisex sweater, the PAKA website couldn’t suggest a size based on my measurements. I was going to order a Medium, liking my sweaters roomy, but the company representative suggested a Small instead as the unisex sizing means women typically need to size down.
The sweater fits me really well, hitting the right point on the hips, with no stretch or excess at the shoulders or bust. As with most of my sweaters, there’s a little extra length on the sleeves, but I quite like this for added coziness over my wrists.
All in all, I’d say to take a bit of care when figuring out your sizing with PAKA. If in doubt, contact the company for advice. And rest assured that PAKA offers a 30-day returns and exchanges policy, with a good reputation for friendly and timely help on the rare occasions someone does need to switch out or return a product.
What we like about PAKA Apparel
PAKA is a relative newcomer to the fashion industry and set out to give back and be fully sustainable right from the start. The company is a Benefit Corporation (B Corp) and was recently voted Best in World for Community. It’s also a founding member of The Good Ocean, meaning it maintains and exceeds rigorous standards for conservation across its entire supply chain and operations.
PAKA Apparel is one of the first animal fiber companies to also focus on the traceability of its fibers. This means you can trust that the sweater or t-shirt you’re wearing was made using yarn from alpacas who roam wild in the Peruvian Andes.
Thanks to PAKA’s efforts, you can trace the fiber in your sweater right down to the coordinates where it was harvested. Check your sweater’s biodegradable hangtag for a QR code to find the fiber’s origins.
After shearing the alpaca, women with incredible skill sort the alpaca fleece fibers by hand into different diameters (microns). This knowledge is the result of many generations of experience and allows the women to differentiate Royal Alpaca fibers of 17-19 microns just by feel.
The finer the fibers the softer the yarn. This is why PAKA favors Royal Alpaca fibers for its clothing.
PAKA and sustainability
PAKA takes sustainability seriously. The company’s entire raison d’etre is to create sustainably clothing from a sustainable fiber (alpaca wool!). These animals need shearing annually, otherwise they overheat, can become immobilized, suffer parasitic infections, and are vulnerable to predators.
Unlike captive, domesticated sheep, though, the alpaca roam free in herds of about 60-90 animals. Each herd is the responsibility of a single family, which tracks the herd and shears the adults humanely as needed.
PAKA uses fully biodegradable packaging, including bioplastic bags you can compost at home. My sweater arrived in cardboard only and my tee arrived in a compostable plastic bag and cardboard mailer envelope.
All orders are shipped carbon neutral through PAKA’s partnership with EcoCart.
PAKA also uses certified organic cotton and recycled nylon in its clothing, albeit in small amounts for the latter.
As for social sustainability, PAKA partners with a local non-profit to fully employ women in Peru, paying them four times the family living wage. The company donates 1% of profits to support regenerative farming and alpaca families, and gives another 1% to Peruvian Hearts to support the education of young women.
Final thoughts on PAKA Clothing
If your mantra is to buy better and buy less, PAKA is a must.
This clothing company makes gorgeous, high performance, incredibly quality clothing that you can put through its paces while looking and feeling great. It’s built for the long haul and is incredibly sustainable too.
With subtle detailing and tailoring, and lightweight, super soft Royal Alpaca fiber, PAKA clothing is not what you might expect when you think of wool sweaters and tees. PAKA also offers full traceability, all the right eco certifications, and a comprehensive approach to sustainability. And the price isn’t terrible either!
In fact, given that a PAKA sweater and tee can easily replace half your regular wardrobe, these quality items are a real bargain.
PAKA Apparel Original Crew Sweater [Staff Tested]
Highlight: Blissfully soft alpaca crew neck sweater in three colors. Fully traceable yarn comes from wild-roaming alpaca and recycled nylon. Oeko-Tex approved dyes only.
PAKA Apparel Tee
Highlights: Sublimely soft, super sustainable organic cotton and alpaca fiber tee that fits perfectly. Anti-odor, thermoregulating, moisture-wicking, and fast-drying. Lightweight and great for every season.