Is cashmere wool or not?

Cashmere or soft gold is an unusual fabric in its composition and properties. Any woman will confirm that softer and more comfortable clothes simply do not exist. Warm softness, gentle lightness and comfortable fit to the body made this material ideal for any season.

From it you can sew almost any thing - a delicate scarf, an elegant sweater or a light coat - cashmere is everything in the shoulder.

Mining method

Cashmere is often called wool. But this is not so. In fact, this is the fluff of a mountain goat of a certain breed, which is still manually harvested. The collection of fluff is carried out in early spring, when the animal no longer needs it.

The animal’s undercoat is combed out with a special comb or plucked by hand, the resulting raw material is thoroughly cleaned of dirt and removed from the wool. The resulting raw materials are sorted by the thickness and length of the hairs. Then sent to weave into thin threads.

Thus, wool and cashmere are different materials, because the first is obtained by shaving the wool of the sheep, the second is by plucking or combing the goats down.

For the first time, goat fluff was obtained in the Indian state of Kashmir, from the name of which the name of the material came from.

Currently, the main suppliers include China and Mongolia. The most expensive and valuable cashmere from all those produced in the world comes from these countries. Indian, Iranian and Afghani material is often sold, but it is significantly inferior in its properties to the first two. It is dirtier and its hairs are thicker.

They tried to breed cashmere goats in other countries recognized as leaders in breeding pets in order to obtain valuable fur, but the inappropriate climate deprived the undercoat of animals of its amazing lightness and ability to keep warm. After all, the temperature in winter in the highlands of Mongolia or China reaches -50 degrees Celsius, and in summer it rises to +40. This led to the appearance of such a gentle and soft material as cashmere.

Interestingly, cashmere fabric is divided into three varieties:

  • Children from down kids;
  • Pashmina from down of the neck and stomach of goats;
  • Natural down cashmere from the back and sides of the animal.

According to legend, Napoleon brought cashmere to Europe, giving his wife a precious shawl from this material.

Features, characteristics of cashmere

The merits of soft gold can be discussed for a very long time. The main ones are the following:

  • This is perhaps the only natural material that does not cause allergies, even in people prone to this disease. It does not scratch or irritate the skin.
  • This is the easiest natural heat source.
  • At the same time, it has great strength and wear resistance. It retains its appearance after washing and does not leave a lint.
  • Due to the special properties of the hairs, it repels dirt and water, as a result of which things always look clean and well-groomed.
  • Delicate threads surpass silk in softness, and wool in thermal conductivity.

Why so valuable

When asking such a question, it should be noted that cashmere:

  • It is made only from a certain breed of goats living in a certain region. Naturally, under such conditions there are restrictions on the number of animals;
  • With one goat it is impossible to collect more than 200 grams of raw materials. It should be noted that it is plucked only once a year, and after processing the amount of material obtained is almost halved;
  • Collection, processing and twisting in the thread is carried out manually, without the use of technology.

By the way, the price of products can vary significantly depending on the type of down, the place of its collection, the quality of weaving. And Italy is recognized as the undisputed leader in the production of cashmere items.