MALABRIGO

Malabrigo is a family-owned yarn company located in Uruguay and Peru. They have have developed a line of hand-dyed yarns of incredible softness and wonderful color variations. Their products are made out of the softest fibers available.

Malabrigo produces yarn because they are passionate about it. They believe in the pleasure of knitting with high-quality, carefully designed, subtly dyed yarns and in the joy of wearing what is created with them.

Malabrigo started small, when two brothers-in-law started dyeing wool in a kitchen pot back in 2005. After achieving good results, they started selling a few skeins to the US and, before they knew it, they had quickly grown to other countries in Europe and the rest of the world. To keep up with this growth, they needed to relocate to larger facilities and hire more employees.

More recently the company has moved all production to Peru, keeping the laboratory in Montevideo expressly for product development.
Malabrigo employs mostly women of all ages, and always tries to give job opportunities to people that have fewer opportunities than the average individual.

“Environmental statement; in the mill at Peru, we use as few chemicals as possible. We reduce the quantity of water used by systematizing the order of colors we dye everyday, meeting Oeko-Tex 1907/2006 CE standards, with a view to achieving the maximum energy saving.”

Most of Malabrigo’s yarns are made with 100% Uruguayan Merino wool. Uruguay has one of the biggest wool supplies in the world, and for good reason as it is of an extremely high quality, especially in regards to softness. Malabrigo wool is 100% produced by Uruguayan farms that allow their free-range sheep through the hills and are herded by actual old-style shepherds. The controversial practice of mulesing does not exist in Uruguay.

Malabrigo is the proud owner of a flock of Merino and Corriedale sheep, who live on a ranch near Montevideo. Taking this step has been very important for the company:  "We strive for sustainability and quality in all aspects of our business, and now we are able to have a direct hand in wool production from the very first step, and to ensure the humane, high-quality care of our happy little sheep. Should you happen to be in the Montevideo area, we invite you to visit our little lab!"

The entire Uruguayan wool industry has committed itself to achieving the highest standards of sheep husbandry. In Uruguay the sheep graze mainly on native grasslands and lamb in the spring when conditions are best for success. All of the wool produced in Uruguay is mulesing-free and shearing occurs pre-lambing. To learn more about their commitment to sustainable, humane sheep welfare visit the Wools of Uruguay website and read the Guidelines for Ethical Sheep Production in Uruguay.