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- What is Pashmina? -
Pashmina is an almost generic name for accessories made from a type of mohair that is obtained from a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas. The name comes from Pashmineh, made from the Persian word pashm (= "wool"). The special goat's fleece has been used for thousands of years to make high-quality shawls that also bear the same name. The Himalayan Mountain goat, Capra Hircus, lives at the altitude of 12000 to 14000 ft. where temperature can drop to -40
degree centigrade. Due to these harsh weather conditions, the thermoconductivity of Cashmere wool is best in the world. The goat sheds its winter coat every spring and the fleece is caught on thorn bushes. One goat sheds approximately 100 grams of the fiber. The thickness of the Cashmere fiber is less than 15-19 microns, making it very soft (whereas a human hair is 75 microns thick).
Cashmere shawls have been manufactured in Kashmir and Nepal for thousands of years, but the Indians never called them "pashmina". They were popularly called Kashmiri wool shawls. The test for a quality Pashmina has been warmth , feel and the posibility to pass the shawl through a wedding ring (100% Pashmina).
Pashmina is an indigenous Nepali word which only became popular after the so-named shawls, woven in Nepal, started being popular in the west. What are commonly thought of as pashminas have their origin in Nepal, where the people have a cultural heritage of hand-weaving pashmina shawls with the well-known fringing and hand dyeing.
To meet the demands of Cashmere lovers, the goats are now commercially reared in the Gobi Desert area in Inner and Outer Mongolia. The region has identical harsh weather conditions to those of the Himalayan region, and is thereby apt for the goats to grow this inner wool, but also has acres of grazing ground to produce cashmere economically and commercially. During spring (Molting Season), the goats shed this inner wool, which they develop all over again during the course of the winter. The inner wool is collected, sheared and spun to produce Cashmere. The quality is just as high, while the costs have become more reasonable as a result.
Pure Pashmina is a rather gauzy, open weave, as the wool cannot tolerate high tension. The most popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend. The 70/30 is tightly woven, has an elegant sheen and drapes nicely, but is still quite soft and light-weight.
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When pashmina shawls rose into fashion prominence during the mid 90’s, it was marketed dubiously. The same Cashmere used for the Pashmina shawls was claimed to be of a superior quality to Cashmere having had a glorious imperial history of production attributable to the enhanced sheen and softness that the fabric (Cashmere blended with silk) encompassed. In the consuming markets, Pashmina shawls were again defined as a shawl with Cashmere and silk, notwithstanding the actual meaning of Pashmina - which is technically an accessory of pure Pashmina and not the blend.
The most dubious of marketing of "pashmina" is the use of the man-made fabric viscose.This is certainly not a true pashmina and will be nowhere near as warm or luxurious as the real thing.
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