Aseana Lounge

c a s h m e r e i n f o

CLASSIFICATION	Specialty hair fiber.
SOURCE	The Cashmere (Kashmir) or down goat. From the fine, soft undercoat or underlayer of hair. The straighter and coarser outer coat is called guard hair.
GEOGRAPHIC ORIGIN	From the high plateaus of Asia. Significant supplier countries are: China, Mongolia and Tibet. Today, little is supplied by the Kashmir Province India, from which its name is derived. The cashmere products of this area first attracted the attention of Europeans in the early 1800s.
GATHERING PROCESS	The specialty animal hair fibers are collected during molting seasons when the animals naturally shed their hairs. Goats molt during a several-week period in spring. In China and Mongolia, the down is removed by hand with a coarse comb. The animals are sheared in Iran, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Australia.
PRODUCTION	The coarse hairs and down hairs of the cashmere goat and camel are separated by a mechanical process known as dehairing.
ANNUAL YIELD	Up to one pound of fiber per goat, with the average 4 to 6 ounces of underdown.
WARMTH	Natural light-weight insulation without bulk. Extremely warm to protect goats from cold mountain temperatures. Fibers are highly adaptable and are easily constructed into fine or thick yarns, and light to heavy-weight fabrics. Appropriate for all climates. A high moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the air.
HAND	Luxuriously soft, with high napability and loft.
NATURAL COLORS	Gray, brown and white.
DYEABILITY	Capable of dyeing to a broad range of colors. Accepts dye equally as well as wool.
GARMENT CARE	Dry clean wovens; knit goods may be handwashed.
END USES	Men's and women's coats, jackets and blazers, skirts, hosiery, sweaters, gloves, scarves, mufflers, caps and robes.
	© CCMI, Boston MA, USA