A $9,000 designer sweater made from the extremely rare fur of a South American animal called a vicuña isn’t exactly a typical topic of interest for a member of the United States Congress.
But when Rep. Robert Garcia, a first-term California Democrat and the first Peruvian-born to serve in the House, saw reports that luxury design house Loro Piana was not fairly compensating Peru’s indigenous workers who sourced wool rare in some of its countries. with his most expensive knitted clothes, he decided to take advantage of his position to make some noise.
“As the first Peruvian-American member of Congress and co-chair of the Congressional Peru Caucus, I am writing regarding reports of the sourcing of vicuña wool by Loro Piana, a subsidiary of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton,” he wrote last to company executives month.
He asked the fashion house – whose products, including shirts, scarves and coats, can cost anywhere from $500 to $30,000 – to explain how it was able to raise prices so steeply while simultaneously reducing the amount paid to people who collect the raw materials for this.
“While Loro Piana prices have increased, the price per kilo of fiber paid to the Lucanian community has decreased by a third in just over a decade; and village income from vicuña has dropped by 80%,” Mr. Garcia said he wrote.
The clash between the century-old Italian clothing brand, whose anonymous jerseys serve as elite talismans recognized only by fashion’s most devoted consumers, and the freshman lawmaker is just one example of a congressional staple: lawmakers, many of whom with unique backgrounds and personal stories – using their platforms and oversight powers to weigh in on the issues that matter to them.
“When we talk about a collection of brands that the world knows like Louis Vuitton and others that people aspire to or want to have, I think people should know that the things they are buying were made through exploitation,” Mr. said. Garcia said in an interview.
“These people, in my opinion, are being completely exploited for $9, 10, 12,000 sweaters – it’s horrible,” he added.
Mr. Garcia said he does not consider himself a fashion icon. The clothes he wears to work are from Men’s Wearhouse. And despite being the older brother of a celebrity stylist — his sister Dianne has dressed the likes of Rosalia and SZA in countless designer gowns — he says the most luxurious options in his closet are years-old sweaters purchased at a steep discount from i his days working at Banana Republic.
But he decided to intervene with Loro Piana after a Bloomberg report last month that delved into the relationship between the multibillion-dollar company, a subsidiary of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury goods empire, and members of the indigenous Peruvian community who harvest and sell the fur of the Andean vicuña, the small golden vicuña cousin of the brown-haired alpaca.
Vicuña wool is considered the “fiber of the gods” and was once considered a sacred fabric worn by Inca royalty. The animal was revered in indigenous folklore as a reincarnated maiden wrapped in a golden cloak. Today, the fine, lustrous fur is the source of one of the most expensive fabrics available.
Loro Piana exerts its influence through rare materials with out-of-reach prices, being one of the most prized brands within the conglomerate run by the richest man in the world. In recent years, lawmakers have found rare bipartisan consensus in taking on the largest corporate players from around the world and across industries, questioning the labor practices of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, and pushing to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the popular social media app.
Matthieu Garnier, CEO of Loro Piana North America, supported the Bloomberg report and opposed Garcia’s investigation.
The Bloomberg article “does not fairly or accurately describe the reality of how vicuña fiber is harvested in Peru, as well as Loro Piana’s genuine and long-standing commitment to the community,” Garnier wrote in response to Garcia’s letter reviewed by The New York Times.
He went on to highlight the company’s conservation efforts in the region and argue that it has played an essential role in helping the vicuña population in Peru recover from a near-extinction situation due to overhunting. The company did this, Garnier wrote, “by offering a purchase price for sheared vicuña fiber high enough to provide real economic opportunities.”
He said Loro Piana pays workers “according to local practices” – typically once a year when animal wool is harvested – and compensates “independent organizations responsible for the harvest.” He did not address specific claims that the company had paid less in recent years, but said Indigenous people themselves have rejected some of the accusations of exploitation.
Mr. Garcia said he was not satisfied with the response and would continue to push for changes.
“Simply saying you invested in some education and some infrastructure improvements is not enough,” the congressman said. “This is happening all over South America, in Peru and around the world in these kinds of low-income communities, and it’s especially true in native or indigenous communities in those countries. That is where the greatest exploitation occurs because these people have very little access to resources.”
