What makes animaná sustainable?

animaná : a company based on a Holistic Model.

Fashion is an industry that brings us all together, gives us identity, generates behaviors, and gives us joy.
But at the same time it is the first industry responsible for forced labor, slavery, and the second most polluting industry.

animaná was born as an alternative within the current fashion system, a holistic and social company from Patagonia that brings together the Andes, coexists and improves the environment, biodiversity and local cultures.

Since its creation in 2009, it was formed by an interdisciplinary network of academics, businessmen, foundations, luxury fashion designers, and people of good will, who, united in one objective, have managed to understand the local reality of the Andes, creating a concept and image and a work system capable of entering the market within the framework of sustainable fashion.

What is sustainability in our processes?

Animaná garments are produced with natural fibers from camelids, llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, and alpacas, which live freely in Patagonia and the Andes. These fibers are extracted manually with dedication and care by local inhabitants and are made by artisans; masters of weaving and possessors of ancient techniques, of unique processes that achieve diverse yarns and textures.

This means that the products are made manually through different looms and shapes, using ancestral techniques preserved in the Andean communities. Its tradition is respected from the shearing of the camelid to the production processes, its techniques and weaving times. The dyeing of the threads, also preserved by the Andean tradition, is done with flowers and plants that inhabit the Andean soils. These are 100% natural and organic processes. 

animaná seeks to be a bridge between the inhabitants of cosmopolitan cities and the secrets of the Andes; a bridge between the market and the artisans who live in remote places in the Andean area. We carry out mutual learning processes based on the exchange of knowledge and information, achieving general well-being for all those involved.

What makes a garment itself and everything behind it sustainable?

animaná carries out work of high social commitment, collaborating in the production process, in management, in product design, in local financing, in the communication of the arts.

We work in interdisciplinary teams to collaborate in the recovery of culture, arts and ancestral secrets, and local development. animaná respects the environment and all those involved, working collaboratively and promoting the local development of different communities of artisans from Patagonia to the Andes and bringing together the column of Latin America, the Andes.

By purchasing an animaná garment, together we collaborate in keeping the culture alive, strengthening the environment through processes that allow populations to develop locally, creating spaces of well-being for the entire society.

What is the environmental impact of the company?

The Andes are losing their biodiversity due to the exodus of communities to cities, which occurs due to the lack of local opportunities. Such migration leaves soils and animals neglected.

By respecting Andean techniques, dealing with natural and organic yarns and dyeing, the evils of large industries towards the environment are avoided; such as the disposal of chemicals in rivers, desertification caused by the exploitation of camelids and the imbalance in biodiversity due to the same.

On the other hand, when produced in this way, animaná garments are superiorly durable - as well as timeless. Therefore, the environment is also taken care of by avoiding the constant and rapid disposal of these garments.

What are you looking for?

As a brand, animaná understands that the industry's production and consumption systems in the world are exhausted. Fashion is on platforms of which we are all part, and can be transformed into a platform of well-being for all.

In this way, animaná carries out a production based on the systems of nature, man and culture as part of the productive processes, and invites a form of conscious consumption, bringing timeless and lasting designs to the market.

We want to be able to include more communities, give more work to artisans, and in this way improve the life of society as a whole, the environment, biodiversity, culture, and return the dreams to the breeders and artisans of the Andes.

What was achieved?

animaná has been endorsed by several foundations and certifications such as Ashoka, C&A and B companies. In addition, we were chosen by Fabric of Change among the 20 global leaders that are changing the textile and fashion industry.

On the other hand, animaná production processes have generated an improvement in the quality of life of Andean communities, producers, artisans and local social companies.

animaná in Numbers:

- We employ 27 producers and work with 346 artisan groups; a total of 3023 individuals. Working with them means impacting their people and families.

- We created a network of 7,500 artisans with excellent work capabilities through various training and expert visits.

- We achieved that the salary of an animaná producer from Salta became 53% higher than the average monthly income in the region.

Every time you choose animaná, you choose to take a step towards a more sustainable life.