11:01 a.m. CDT, June 4, 2010
Zionsville, Ind.—
Hoosiers are doing their part to help in the clean-up by sending part of their unique harvest down to the gulf.

 “It's a very nice fiber. It's a luxury fabric."

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Most of the fleece from Todd Hruby's herd of alpacas goes toward high end clothing -- things like scarves and sweaters, even the socks favored by many pro athletes. He raises 36 of the llama-like animals on his farm in Zionsville, Indiana.

"We raise simply for the fiber. We shear once a year and then we raise animals for breeding the size of the herd."

But this year, Hruby is donating some of his unused fleece for a special cause -- cleaning up the massive oil spill in the gulf.

"The seconds and thirds, we're always looking for uses for that fiber so it’s a natural to put the fiber to use and help those in the gulf."

Hruby's farm is part of a nationwide effort by alpaca breeders to help absorb some of the millions of gallons of oil that's spilled into the gulf. It will be packed into buoys and then sent out into the oil slick.

Breeders say the fabric is uniquely suited for the job and does it better than other materials.

"The alpaca fiber is a hollow fiber rather than wool or human hair that's solid fiber, so it has more space to absorb the oil."

Thousands of pounds of alpaca fiber will be packed up and sent to New Orleans with at least some of it coming from in Zionsville where one Hoosier is glad to do his part to clean-up a disaster.

"I think any way we can help. We're glad to help."