Animaná founder Adriana Marina began her company with the goal of making positive changes in sustainability and social development within the fashion industry, and works with local artisans in Patagonia and the Andes to create high-quality baby alpaca fibers for heirloom products meant to last for generations. Munkh founder Bayarmaa works in a parallel manner with Mongolian goat herders who produce some of the world’s finest fibers from sustainable goat cashmere.

Adriana Marina, the founder of Animana, was born in Southern Patagonia where the immensity of the landscape contrasts with the Patagonian coasts, plateaus, desert, and the rugged peaks of the Andes.

Changing social norms have forced the fashion and design industries to confront core concerns about its place within a progressive-minded society. “There’s been increasingly more awareness of all these problems over the past few years, including the impact [fashion manufacturing] has on the environment — pollution, contamination of the water, etc.,” says Animaná founder Adriana Marina, who credits that reckoning to the public’s increased access to information.

Munkh works in a parallel manner with Mongolian goat herders, who produce what some judge the world’s finest cashmere fibers. Bayarmaa also stressed that her brand’s environmentally responsible initiatives extend into manufacturing and hiring. “Our factory process has a no waste-concept, and our company is involved in several social responsibility initiatives.” Both founders emphasize that their efforts will only intensify as public opinion shifts — creating a powerful momentum. “There is still a lot of work to do, especially in a more systematic approach,” Marina says.