The Superiority of Baby Alpaca: Why Summit & Selva Blankets Rise Above Wool
When most people think of high-quality textiles, they picture wool—warm, dependable, familiar. But there is another fiber from the Andean highlands that surpasses wool in softness, warmth, sustainability, and comfort: Baby Alpaca.
At Summit & Selva, our blankets are not simply accessories; they are heirloom textiles that honor traditional craftsmanship and a natural luxury the world is only beginning to rediscover.
A Fiber Born in the Andes
Baby Alpaca isn’t taken from baby animals — it refers to the finest category of Alpaca fiber, harvested from the softest parts of the adult alpaca’s coat.
It has been prized for centuries by Andean cultures, reserved only for royalty and nobility. Today, the same fiber is woven by Bolivian and Peruvian artisans into textiles that are remarkably soft, lightweight, and incredibly warm.
Where wool is coarse, Baby Alpaca is silky.
Where wool itches, Baby Alpaca comforts.
Where wool struggles with humidity, Baby Alpaca excels.
Why Baby Alpaca Outperforms Wool
1. A Remarkably Soft Touch
Wool fibers contain microscopic scales with sharp edges—this is why wool can irritate the skin.
Baby Alpaca fibers are smooth and rounded, leaving no prickly sensation. The material is naturally silky, often compared to cashmere, which is why Summit & Selva blankets feel like a warm cloud draped over your shoulders.
2. Lightweight Warmth Without Bulk
Alpaca fibers are hollow at the core, forming tiny air pockets that trap heat without adding weight.
This results in a throw that:
Warms you in winter
Stays breathable in summer
Never feels heavy or restrictive
Wool lacks this internal structure, which makes it heavier while offering less thermal efficiency.
3. Hypoallergenic Comfort
Many people react to sheep’s wool because it contains lanolin, a waxy natural oil.
Baby Alpaca fiber contains no lanolin, making it:
Naturally hypoallergenic
Non-itching
Comfortable on sensitive skin
Ideal for people who avoid wool due to allergies
4. Moisture and Temperature Control
Unlike wool, which becomes clammy when damp, Baby Alpaca wicks moisture and regulates temperature effortlessly.
In humid conditions, it remains comfortable and breathable, allowing your body to maintain its natural warmth rather than trapping heat.
5. Breathes in Summer, Warms in Winter
This is perhaps the most surprising benefit. Customers often tell us:
“The blanket keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”
That’s not a sales phrase — it’s physics.
Baby Alpaca adapts to body temperature and ambient climate.
It’s a textile that behaves more like a natural ecosystem than a fabric.
Sustainable, Responsible, and Humane
Summit & Selva partners with Andean artisan families who hand-weave each blanket using generations-old techniques. Alpacas are shorn gently, seasonally, and sustainably — never harmed.
This process honors:
Indigenous knowledge
Ethical stewardship of land and animals
Slow fashion principles
Local community economics
Wool, by contrast, is often mass-produced, factory-processed, chemically treated, and commodity-driven.
Why a Summit & Selva Blanket Becomes an Heirloom
Every Baby Alpaca blanket we offer is:
Made in small batches
Handwoven, not machine milled
Naturally dyed
Ultra-soft from the first touch
Durable enough for daily use
Designed to age gracefully, not pill or mat
This isn’t a throw you fold for guests — it’s the one you curl into every day because it becomes part of your ritual of comfort.
Imagine the softness of fur, the warmth of down, and the weightlessness of air—woven into something you can hold.
That is Baby Alpaca.
