Shearing is the process to cut the fleece of the Alpaca with scissors or a machine, taking the whole fleece in one piece. Domestic alpacas, unlike their wild siblings, have lost the ability to shed their wool naturally with changing seasons. Therefore, to support the animal, when winter fades, their human families shear them.

Unlike their siblings the wild vicuña and the common lama, which feature both under coat and upper coat wool, alpacas have a much finer, homogenous type of wool which is used to create wool products of extraordinary quality. Alpaca fleeces for instance are naturally resistant against rain, breathable and protect from the heat of the sun and the cold of the mountain. Woven into thick ponchos they protect people in Andean communities from the extreme weather conditions they are facing.