World in Fashion

You know that favorite cashmere sweater you have? It feels so soft and buttery against your skin when you wear it doesn’t it? You know if you take care of it the sweater will last forever. And it is so warm! All in all it’s a fantastic garment isn’t it?

And it should be because it cost a fortune!

Did you ever wonder why it cost so much? Obviously it’s fantastically soft and it does wear really well but there are other knits and fabrics that come close. Cashmere has also been associated with luxury for a very long time being the fabric of the rich and famous. But is that why it’s so expensive?

Did you know your sweater came from the lower half of a goat?

From a Kashmir goat to be specific and if your sweater is really good quality that goat is probably stomping around somewhere in Mongolia or along the border of Pakistan and India. If it’s a lesser quality it may call Iran or Turkey or even the United States home.

Cashmere is made from the underhair of the Kashmir goat. The best underhair on the goat is found on the lower half of the body and on the goat’s belly. Harvesting this hair is not like shoring a sheep although that’s what happens outside of China, India and Pakistan.

The traditional method of harvest involves combing the goat so that only the fine underhairs are removed not the coarse top layer of hair. Believe it or not, but it can take up to three days to comb a single goat. Each goat yields about 150 grams of underhair. That’s less than 5.5 ounces. By comparison, a sheep will produce 100 to 300 pounds of wool each year depending on the breed. Can you see where cashmere is a pretty scarce commodity?

Once this cashmere “wool” is gathered it is then de-haired where the long hair that was removed during the harvesting process is separated from the underhair. The resulting hairs are then cleaned, dyed and either spun into yarn or woven into fabric.

In the past, that usually meant that the raw product would be sent to Scotland or Italy who are both famous for their excellent spinning and weaving industries. However, China has invested hugely in the technology and today a good portion of the harvest is processed by the Chinese.

So the next time you pull on that cashmere sweater think about that cute goat (or two) that had his belly combed for your enjoyment. Cashmere rocks and so do Kashmir goats.