What We Stand On

Four things we hold to. We buy finished cloth directly from weavers and cooperatives at fair prices. We name the tradition and the region on every piece rather than calling the pattern our own. We make in small batches and sell out rather than overproduce. And we do not claim a certification we do not hold; this page lists exactly what we do and nothing more.

Cloth over gold

In the Inca world the most valuable thing was not metal but cloth. The finest weavings were reserved for rulers and gods, and pattern carried meaning the way writing does elsewhere. We take that seriously in a plain way: the cloth is the point of every piece we make, and everything else, the twill, the strap, the label, is there to carry it. Read the longer version on The Craft.

Ayni, reciprocity

Ayni is the Andean rule of mutual return: today for you, tomorrow for me. Our version is a purchasing policy. We buy at the price the weaver or cooperative sets, we do not push for volume the loom cannot give, and we return a share of every drop to weaving communities and craft preservation. We publish what we know about origin on each product page and update it as we learn more. More on ayni.

Tocapu, pattern as language

Andean pattern was never decoration. It named communities, ranks and stories. So we do not redraw it, simplify it, or print an imitation of it on plain fabric. We recut real handwoven cloth and credit where it comes from. The chakana on the front of every cap is the one symbol we add, in thread, and we explain it on its own page.

Pachamama, small batches

We make what the cloth allows and no more. Drops are small, colourways sell out, and we would rather have a cap missing than a warehouse full. Shipping is tracked, and any two caps ship free. More on pachamama.

What we do not claim

We are not Fair Trade certified, B Corp certified, or organic certified, and we will not use those words until an independent body has checked us. We do not photograph weavers without consent, and any illustrated image on this site is labelled as such. If you are writing about ethical hat brands and want to check any of the above, write to us and we will answer with what we have.

See how it is made, the weavers and the materials.