Loro Piana refutes accusations of unfairness towards Peruvian suppliers

In a statement sent to the AFP agency on Thursday, Italian label Loro Piana, owned by the LVMH group, has “formally refuted the allegations” of unfairness towards Peru-based vicuña wool suppliers, after a US congressman asked the label to justify itself following a news report by Bloomberg.

In a letter dated March 15, Congressman Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California who was born in Peru, asked Antoine Arnault, president of Loro Piana, and Damien Bertrand, the label’s CEO, for explanations, following the Bloomberg report.

Loro Piana, which specialises in garments made with cashmere, vicuña and extra-fine wool, is able to sell a vicuña sweater for approximately $9,000. Villagers in Lucanas, Peru, who shear the wild animal, a mammal similar to the llama, instead earn $280, according to the report.

The price paid to Lucanas villagers for raw vicuña yarn has dropped by 36% over the last decade, said Bloomberg.

“We formally refute these allegations, which do not reflect the reality of the situation, the way in which vicuña wool is harvested in Peru, nor Loro Piana’s real and continued commitment in favour of the local population in the last few decades,” said Loro Piana in the statement sent to AFP.

“With regard to the Lucanas community, the volume of Loro Piana’s purchases from them is equivalent to 4% of the total quantity purchased by the label in Peru. Thanks to this harvest, the community receives from Loro Piana up to several hundred thousand dollars, on average, for their work every year,” added Loro Piana.

The label said that the wool harvest lasts for only one day, that it takes place once a year, and that the wool’s price per kilo ranges “between $300 and $400, depending on the harvest and on supply and demand trends.”

“More broadly, Loro Piana has paid nearly $20 million over the past 10 years to its Peru-based suppliers to buy vicuña yarn,” said the label.

Loro Piana went on to add that “despite everything, aware that the situation may be challenging for some, Loro Piana will carry out initiatives on the ground in Peru to further strengthen its control of the local supply chain, in order to ensure that the sums paid to the organisations in charge of the harvesting are equitably allocated and redistributed.”