Juan Echegaray, a Basque Argentine immigrant, and the textile engineering background of Robert Fraser, a Scottish Argentine immigrant, created a partnership in 1883 for the manufacture of espadrilles (jute-soled canvas footwear favored by laborers for their comfort, durability and low cost). These shoes' Spanish-language name, Alpargatas, inspired the company's name, Sociedad Anónima Fábrica Argentina de Alpargatas, upon its incorporation in 1885.[4]
Demand for the unassuming footwear grew with the wave of immigration in Argentina during the 1880s, and by 1890, Alpargatas had established a facility in neighboring Uruguay. The fast-growing textile industry led to its diversification into yarn in 1892, and by 1907, a facility was opened in São Paulo, Brazil under the name "Sao Paulo Alpargatas".[5]