Cashmere is a premium organic textile made from the superfine undercoat fibres of cashmere goats, which are bred primarily by Mongolian nomadic herders in the mountains and steppe of Inner Asia. Downy wool covers most of the goats’ bodies, offering protection against extreme winter temperatures that can reach -40°. Herders comb this wool by hand as it begins to moult naturally each spring. The raw wool is then spun into fine yarn and woven or knitted into luxury apparel.
Rock art image of a wild goat from Naranbulag in Western Mongolia. The presence of goat imagery in prehistoric sites throughout Mongolia attests to the cultural importance of goats in Inner Asia from the Bronze Age or earlier.
Sustainable cashmere
Cashmere can be considered a sustainable product for several reasons:
- Cashmere is a durable, organic textile that’s produced from a renewable resource.
- Cashmere goats help maintain biodiversity, since they’re most often grazed extensively in small, mixed herds, as they have been for thousands of years.
- The cashmere trade also supports the livelihoods and culture of Mongolian nomadic herders.
- Economically, the cashmere industry is one of the only viable alternatives to extractive resource-based development in Mongolia.
But at the same time, there are claims that cashmere goats have damaged rangelands through indiscriminate overgrazing to meet market demand. To address this concern, several different “sustainable cashmere” standards are being introduced.
At Zolzaya Cashmere, we are working to ensure that cultural factors are included in sustainability standards and best practices, by promoting (1) culturally-appropriate technologies and (2) investments in nomadic cultural heritage safeguarding efforts.
Value chain
Cashmere passes through many hands as it makes its way from herder to consumer.
