Source hierarchy
- Primary and official material first: government agencies, intergovernmental organizations, regulators, and standards owners.
- Industry and educational bodies second: useful for terminology, handling practices, and category context when they are not making unsupported claims.
- Commercial sources last: used mainly to observe how products are described in the market, not as authority for factual claims.
Source families used for this edition
- FAO and related official camelid material for animal and Andean context
- MIDAGRI and other Peruvian official sources for Peru-centered alpaca production context
- FTC guidance for U.S. textile and wool labeling expectations
- CPSC and European Commission guidance for toy and children’s-product safety framing
- Textile Exchange for current certification and standards architecture affecting alpaca claims
Editorial rules used in practice
- Do not use a precise number when authoritative sources conflict and the exact figure is not necessary.
- Do not let a retailer’s phrasing outrank a regulator’s or standards owner’s language.
- Do not let a certification name stand in for full proof; identify the scope and stage of certification whenever possible.
- Do not turn product copy into a substitute for safety, legal, or compliance documentation.
Update posture
Pages dealing with standards, claims, labeling, or safety deserve periodic review because those areas change faster than basic animal facts. Production copy should be checked again before launch if the site is not going live immediately.