Kyrgyz cashmere
Precious and noble natural fibers
Cashmere has been valued because of its uniquely warm, soft and light properties for centuries. The valuable hair is obtained from the undercoat of domesticated goats that live in the Himalayan and Central Asian highlands and the vast steppes in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (China).
Their unique coat protects the animals during summer from dust and sun and during winter from cold and wind. Goats grow the highly insulating undercoat each winter, which represents the noblest part of the coat: the cashmere.
Harvesting cashmere takes place once a year during spring, when the goats change the coat and repel the insulating undercoat.
The goats are neither shorn nor shaved, but carefully combed.
This is when a first selection takes place: the fine undercoat is separated from the coarser outercoat; the latter protects the goats in the summer from dust and sun. The fine undercoat - harvested through repeated combing - represents the valuable raw cashmere.
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In the next step, the raw cashmere is pre-sorted for color, texture and length. The selection mainly takes place in terms of three key quality criteria: length, fineness and curl. The longer, finer and curlier the fibers, the finer the yarn may subsequently be spun, and hence the lighter the final product will become. The fineness of the hair is important, because only hair with a diameter of up to a maximum of 0,019 millimeters may be referred to as cashmere.
Through this rigorous selection process, the unique cashmere-feel and the high quality of this beautiful natural fiber from Kyrgyzstan can be assured.
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