Meli and Rensso Hinostroza, are the sister and brother team behind Arms Of Andes. Their Peruvian parents were raised in small, mountain towns in the highlands of Peru and family vacations have always been to their ancestral home.

Following a lot of research they discovered that Alpaca has similar properties to merino wool and the potential to perform even better.

But they didn’t want to just make outdoor apparel, they also wanted to lead the way in sustainable manufacturing practices. Manufacture of most clothing involves shipping materials to different countries for each part of the production process; but they realised that by keeping production in one place – Peru – they could greatly reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

Furthermore, alpaca wool is natural, renewable, and sustainably produced, so by including additional sustainable practices, such as using other natural materials (like natural dyes and cotton for labels and stitching) and reducing packaging they could make the most sustainable outdoor clothing. In fact, their naturally coloured shirts, beanies and neck gaiters are now 100% biodegradable, leaving no trace when composted!

Family and where you come from are major cornerstones of the Peruvian culture, and who they are as a company. This is even reflected in their name: “Arms” is a combination of the first name initials of us four siblings and our roots are “of the Andes”.

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