Sustainability of Cashmere industry
The sustainability of the Cashmere industry is a big doubt. Climate change and to some extent over grazing has led to an drastic increase in the size of Gobi Desert i.e. on average 3600 Sq. Km per year. This has severely harmed the quality of the grass land in, both, China and Mongolia and, hence, the quality of the Raw fiber.
Raw fibers are thicker than ever. Not so long ago,15.5 micron Cashmere was the industry standard. However, now, the average diameter of most fiber available in the market has increased to 15.8 micron.
We are already working to make it sustainable and assure the quality by sourcing it ourselves
After an extensive period of research, We have started to source our own Cashmere from Inner Mongolia & Qinghai. We have personal relationships with farming families in these regions and directly buy the raw cashmere from them. We also plan to provide them with technical assistance in partnership with the local government to improve the quality of the grassland.
We test all our raw fibers and make sure it is on average15.5 micron in diameter and 34-36 mm in fiber length before purchasing them and hence assuring the quality right from the very beginning. After collecting the raw fibers it is shipped to our partner dehairing and spinning mill in Qinghe, Hebei. After the spinning, It is once again tested and certified by SGS and then shipped to our Knitting and Weaving factory in Nepal.