Cashmere

Cashmere is a very valuable textile fibre obtained from the processing of the Hircus Laniger Goat’s coat, originating from the highlands of Central Asia, in particular North China and Mongolia, on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

Its name comes from Kashmir, a historic region currently splitted between India, Pakistan and China, from where it was exported to Europe since the early nineteenth century.

In order to survive the wide temperature changes of the habitat where they live, with hot summers and cold winters that can reach even 40 degrees below zero, the Hircus goats have developed a double coat: a waterproof coat, visible from the outside, composed of the longest, coarsest and roughest hair called Giarra and a dense undercoat, also called Duvet, composed of thousands of fine and extraordinarily soft fibers that acts as thermal insulation and from which is then obtained the cashmere.

The insulating power of cashmere is 10 times that of wool; although lighter, is much warmer because inside its fibre there is an inner tube which naturally produces the functions of heat regulation and transpiration, thus making it a precious ally in all seasons, in winter as well as on cool summer evenings.

Goats live in the wild, without borders and are partly looked after by shepherds who gather their flocks in spring for shearing.

The optimal harvesting technique is manual combing, which takes place in May during the wet season when the climate becomes milder and is done with the help of a small comb with long teeth (a process totally harmless to the animal).

The best quality is obtained by combing the chinstrap region and the belly, where the fibres are denser, more compact and softer.

A single Hircus goat produces about 170-200 grams of cashmere each year, enough to produce a sweater, instead a common sheep produces as much as three kilos of wool.

One of the reasons for the very high value lies precisely in the very small amount of fiber that is obtained only from the best part of the animal coat, the Duvet.

The baby cashmere used today as cashmere of greater value, is nothing more than the Duvet of young goats.

This fiber can be of various colors, with shades ranging from white to brown to white to black.

The most precious and expensive colours are light colours such as white White and extra White, as they allow light dyes and extremely bright colours.

Dyeing a light blue on a white base or on a grey base, with very different colour and brightness effects.

The fuller and brighter the colours, the more expensive the yarn base is.

The colour, length, average diameter and structure of the hair collected from the cashmere goats determine the quality and value of the yarn that can be obtained from it.

The quality of the fibre depends inextricably on the harshness of the climatic conditions. Mongolian has rightly acquired the title of “the most prized cashmere in the world” thanks to very harsh winters force goats living in Mongolia to develop a more resistant and longer fibre than those living in other countries.