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Our Products and Our Producers
Pachacuti shows that in a world of mass-produced clothing, people can wear individual, stylish garments which have been created by hand using traditional skills, with respect for the environment and ensuring that the producers receive a living wage. We provide essential income for 1200 artisans, mainly women, throughout the Andes, working within 18 producer groups.
Pachacuti is the UK’s only Fair Trade hat specialist, working directly with women's co-operatives in Ecuador. The panama hat supply chain has traditionally been controlled by middlemen, known as ‘perros’ (dogs in Spanish) due to their unscrupulous purchasing methods and weavers typically receiving a very low price for their skills. With a Pachacuti panama, the women carry out the entire production process from weaving to finishing and thus retain far more of the final value of the hat. Moreover, Pachacuti assists elderly weavers through a pension scheme, finances capital expenditure and supports community development projects such as building a new grocery store, supporting Alcoholics Anonymous and ensuring that poor families can afford to educate their children.
The classic panama hat epitomises the idea of slow fashion, a backlash against the disposable fashion of recent years which seems frivolous in the current credit crunch. Panamas are made from native toquilla palm, which is harvested sustainably along the coast of Ecuador and transported to town by donkey. The entire processing of the hat uses no harmful chemicals and the mild chemicals used to bleach the hats are then filtered through a system of tanks so that water can be constantly re-used in the production process. When a Panama finally reaches the end of its life after many years of wear, it can be put on the compost heap. By ensuring just remuneration for current weavers, ensuring sustainability and training a new generation in weaving techniques, Pachacuti will ensure that the Panama hat continues to be a fashion icon into the next century.
Pachacuti also designs collections of alpaca knitwear, hand-embroidered clothing and felt hats. Traditional skills such as embroidery and millinery are under threat due to the rapid westernisation of indigenous dress and many artisans have lost their local market. Our designs utilise these traditional skills and are playing a significant part in preserving the rich textile heritage of the Andes.