How cashmere is collected?

Cashmere is collected from the soft undercoat of cashmere goats during their natural shedding season, using methods designed to preserve fiber quality and animal welfare.

The process works as follows:

Cashmere goats grow two layers of hair in winter:

• A coarse outer coat for protection

• A fine, downy undercoat for insulation

Only the fine undercoat is used to make cashmere.

In spring, when temperatures rise, goats naturally begin to shed this undercoat. This is when collection takes place.

The main collection methods are:

Hand combing (preferred method)

The goat is gently combed using a special metal comb to remove the loose undercoat fibers.

This method:

• Collects only the finest fibers

• Produces the highest-quality cashmere

• Minimizes coarse hair contamination

• Is more labor-intensive and expensive

Shearing (less precise method)

The goat is shorn, removing both fine and coarse hair together.

The usable cashmere must later be separated from guard hairs through sorting and dehairing. This method yields more fiber but lower initial purity.

After collection:

• Fibers are sorted to remove coarse hairs

• Cleaned to remove dirt and grease

• Dehaired mechanically to isolate fine cashmere

Key facts:

• One goat produces only 150–200 grams of usable cashmere per year

• Most raw fiber is lost during cleaning and dehairing

• Major cashmere-producing regions include Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China), and Central Asia

In summary, cashmere is collected by gently removing the naturally shed undercoat of cashmere goats, primarily through hand combing, making it a rare and labor-intensive luxury fiber.