J. Alex Swift started knitting alpaca socks 25 years ago and are still going strong. That means the company started way before the alpaca craze, way before people knew the benefits of the fibre or had the chance to buy alpaca products in the UK.

So how did it start and what was the risk involved?

I sat down with Neil Swift, one of the directors of the company to get a history lesson. It made sense to interview him since Neil was the one who decided to develop alpaca socks.

“It was not long after I took over the company from my father. One of our wholesale customers was enquiring if we can make socks out of an exotic fibre. The alpaca yarn fitted in Swift’s profile with the luxury socks we were already making.”

Once there was a booming textile industry in the UK, the hub being in Leicestershire. However, as world trading advanced, companies commissioned their socks from abroad. That meant cheaper products and often poor quality too, not even considering the health benefits of a great pair of socks.

J. Alex Swift has a history of knitting things out of the ordinary. That is exactly why the factory is still here after 125 years. Slowly but surely the textile manufacturers went out of business in Leicestershire. The ones still standing all specialise something bespoke such as football socks, school socks or dance socks. In Swift’s case, it’s alpaca bed socks and walking socks.

It wasn’t easy to start, and it isn’t easy today.

The first sock was 100% alpaca. The fabric was falling apart after a few wears. 100% alpaca fabric would be more suitable as a scarf or a jumper, but a sock needs to endure constant friction. With experimentation, a fabric was engineered to be wearable, durable while keeping the lovely feel of the alpaca fibre. After a few tries, a yarn has been developed that brought satisfactory performance.

Following a successful first run, it was time to take the big leap, developing an alpaca range and offering it wholesale. When you decide what yarn is the right yarn you have to buy it in significant quantities to persuade anyone to spin it to your specification. And as you can imagine alpaca yarn is not cheap. Then you wait 4 months for it to arrive. It involves a long lead time because the best place to manufacture the alpaca yarn is in Peru where the alpacas are indigenous and the industry of handling the fibre is 1000s of years old.

When the yarn finally arrives you still have to knit it, toe-close it, get it dyed, wash it and press it. Then you have a brilliant product. You have then made a range of alpaca socks with no certainty of customers. 25 years ago, it wasn’t a common, well-known – and not yet a sought after – fibre. You had no idea who – if anyone – would buy it until you offered it to them.

Be visionary, be bold

“The risk was enormous but one of the best decisions I ever made. In every successful business, there is a huge risk involved at one point or another. If it wasn’t like that everyone would make the same tried and tested products.”

Neil also added that Swift had a good experience with developing mohair products which became a successful part of the business, therefore they believed if they could develop an alpaca yarn that was suitable for socks there was a possibility for the same success.

Nowadays alpaca socks are 45% of the business so we can safely say it worked.

The alpaca range started fairly small, and it gained momentum and had a snowball effect. All that without any type of advertisement or any salesperson. While having great fibre is key, it is not enough. You need to produce socks for specific activities people are looking for, like the top of the range of alpaca walking socks Swift offers.

Traditional vs. Modern

J. Alex Swift have traditional ribbed machinery -, many with cushioned sole facilities – which shows off the luxurious alpaca yarn perfectly. In some ways better than a modern machine that often needs extra elastic to make a sock.

Many modern machines are single-cylinder, rather than ribbed machines. These machines produce plain knit, everyday socks that you can buy for pennies. They usually have an imitation ribbed top, which is a “mock” rib as there are lots of elastic that goes into the fabric to mimic what a ribbed machine can do without any elastic.

“…with rib machines, we don’t have to put the excessive elastic in the top or anywhere in the rib.”

It is a lovely product. And J. Alex Swift sells it in a way that small, independent shops can buy it, without demanding a large order. Supporting small British businesses just as Swift itself.

“When we opened the retail side of the business, we wanted our products to be slightly different from what we offer wholesale to distinguish from customers buying from us directly or other wholesale sources. Also, not to compete with our current wholesale customers to maintain the confidence and good partnerships which have been built over time.”

For example, the best seller alpaca bed socks in beautiful contrast colours are exclusively available on the Socks by Swift website.

Despite all the success and now with a growing retail side, sock manufacturing has its difficulties today as much as it did a few decades ago. Retaining the skills necessary to make socks in an industry that is now small and still shrinking is only one of the hardships.

Luxurious Alpaca

Alpaca wool is one of the finest luxury fibres, it has all the benefits of sheep wool and some. Alpacas are shorn once a year, without harm. Due to the soft texture alpaca fleece is often compared to cashmere, it is just as warm as wool, yet lighter. It comes in various natural colours and shades.

The fibre is naturally hypoallergenic as it doesn’t contain lanolin. Compared to regular wool the fibre is smooth and avoids itching or skin irritations. The Alpaca fleece wicks away moisture and redistributes it around the sock so that your feet always feel dry.

It is a high quality, environmental friendly and natural renewable resource. It is extremely strong but fine at the same time and has three times the insulating capacity compared to sheep’s wool products.

Alpaca have incredible bacteria-repelling properties, can be worn for a week before needing to be cleaned. They are machine washable on low temperature and wool cycle.

Here is a list of all the benefits

– Natural and biodegradable 
– Soft and silky
– Thermal properties, cool in the summer, yet warm in the winter.
– Durable and stain-resistant
– Breathability 
– Wicks away body moisture
– Resists odours
– Warm when wet
– Won’t mat or pill
– Flame resistant 

Wonderous Wool

Wool is a natural fibre grown on sheep that roam freely in the countryside and on the hills. Sheep re-grow their fleece every year, making wool one of the most sustainable fibres available. Farming also helps to preserve landscapes, as sheep grazing maintains our countryside, creating habitats for wildlife to thrive.

As long as there is grass for sheep to eat, wool can be produced, in contrast to synthetic fibres, which require oil and refineries, a non-renewable resource for man-made fibre production.

Wool can breathe, absorbing water vapour from the body and releasing it into the atmosphere

This means that if you wear around you, sweat is easily and consistently wicked away from your skin keeping your or your child’s skin healthy.  Soft Merino wools are fabulous next to the skin, and non-itchy for most people.

Wool can dynamically respond to the environment and help regulate temperature

Wool moves moisture away from your skin faster or slower, depending on your body temperature and the environment.  This is because it has evolved naturally to help keep sheep comfortable as temperatures change – and it does the same for you and your baby or child.  In this way, it helps keep the body’s temperature stable even if you warm up through exercise, cool down through sitting still, or are affected by changing external temperatures.  Your body has to do less work, and it’s more relaxed in a way – and wool helps the body relax into sleep too.

Wool can clean itself (oh yes!)

This benefits you as you don’t have to wash it very often.  In fact, most natural wool clothes can be hung up to air and then worn again – the “wear then air” approach.  

Wool repels rain (think: sheep)

It’s not entirely waterproof of course, but it’s surprisingly showerproof and what’s more, it can absorb water without feeling cold and wet.  You know how cotton gets cold when it’s wet?  Wool stays warm and dry-feeling for much, much longer.  This is great for kids on the beach in Spring or in muddy puddles, and great if you’re hiking in the Lake District too. 

Wool is good for summer!

Because wool can respond dynamically to what’s going on around it, it’s an excellent year-round fibre.  Fine layers of wool work brilliantly as underlayers in winter and top layers in summer – and it’s also naturally UV protective too.  

Wool is a natural “high-performance” fabric – it’s naturally good for your skin and body. Because of this, it’s very helpful in keeping you and your family healthy, relaxed and rested.

Scrumptious Cotton

Breathable: Unlike most synthetic fabrics, cotton absorbs the sweat from your body and allows it to evaporate into the air.

Soft: Cotton is a soft and stretchy fabric that is comfortable to wear.

Natural: While synthetic fabrics are manufactured with chemicals, cotton is a natural fabric that does not irritate the skin.

Non-allergenic: Cotton fabrics do not cause skin allergies, which is why they are recommended for babies and people with sensitive skin. This is also one of the reasons why bandages and gauze are made with cotton.

Strong: Cotton fibres are spun into a tight yarn that is both strong and durable. In fact, it is 30 percent stronger when it is wet, so it can withstand quite a few washes. It happens to be stain-repellent too.