Where does cashmere come from?

Cashmere wool is obtained from the Cashmere goat and is also known as Pashmina. The name derives from an ancient spelling of Kashmir. The goat (Capra Hirus Laniger) belongs to the subfamily Caprinae of the family Boivdae. The goats have a double fleece consisting of the much finer, soft under coat of hair, which is the source of cashmere fibre for clothing with a much coarser outer coat of hair called guard hair. The guard hair keeps the heat in and the under coat insulates the goats from the cold mountain temperatures.

Cashmere comes from the goats living in the high dry plateaus of Asia, stretching from Northern China into Mongolia. Little is supplied by Kashmir State of India. Sixty percent of the worlds supply of cashmere is produced in China and the remainder from Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Kashmir, Australia and New Zealand.

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