In 2015, 18-year-old Kris Cody went to hike in the Andes during a gap year before college. Six months later, he came back with a new sweater — and the seed of a business idea.

Vicuñas, big-eyed camelids that roam the southern Andes, produce the finest and most expensive wool there is. In New York, Milan or London, the fashion house Loro Piana sells a vicuña sweater ...

These Alpaca wool sweaters ($100) from Paka are warmer, cozier, and lighter than their merino counterparts. Each one is made by Peruvian weavers high in the Andes Mountains, where alpaca wool has ...

The annual chaccu helps support families in 290 communities in the Peruvian Andes. Vicuna wool is highly-prized for its soft qualities and is one of the most expensive in the world.

The 100 percent alpaca wool sweater is loved by Amazon shoppers who write that it’s softer than Merino wool options they’ve tried before. Get it now while it’s marked down to $70.

But that’s just the start of the reason for their wool’s high price. Skittish wild animals that have yet to be successfully domesticated, vicunas live on Andean mountainsides above 11,000 feet.