Cashmere

Cashmere is the fibre from the downy undercoat of the Asiatic goat (Carpa hircus laniger) with a mean diameter of 18.5 microns or less. The Cashmere goat who gave its name to Cashmere fibre, lived originally in Cashmere and the dry highland plateaus of North-China, Tibet and Mongolia, which border on the Gobi Desert. Around 1800 its fibre was discovered by Europeans in the Indian province Kashmir, and its excellent qualities became known.

The goats grow this fibre as a protection against the winter in much the same way as geese and ducks produce down. More than 3000 tones of Cashmere is produced worldwide every year, the majority coming from Mongolia, China and the Himalayan regions with smaller amounts from Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

The specialty animal hair fibres are collected during moulting season when the animals naturally shed their hairs.

Goats moult during spring. In China and Mongolia, the down is removed by hand with a coarse comb. The animals are shorn in Iran, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Australia.

The downy fibre is renowned for its silkiness, luxury and softness. It is extremely warm to protect goats from cold mountain temperatures. The fibres are highly adaptable and are easily constructed into fine or thick yarns, and light to heavy-weight fabrics. The fibre is appropriate for all climates and a high moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the atmosphere.

For its high-quality products Pelage uses only New Zealand Cashmere, which has fibres of 16 microns in diameter, making it softer and more desirable than similar fibres like Cashgora, another goat fibre, which has a fibre diameter of 21 microns.