Currently, the export of Pashmina from India is restricted due to current efforts by the Indian Customs to halt the export of illegal antelope hair (shatoosh). This is often mistaken with Pashmina and is under strictest species protection.
At theflowerloom, we support these efforts. As soon as legal differentiations have been clarified, we will start delivering our Pashminas again.
What is Pashmina?
The word Pashmina comes from the Persian word “pashm”, meaning “soft gold”. It describes the finest and longest under hair of the Tibetan Changthangi or “Chang-Ra” goat. Chang-Ra goats are native to the Ladakh and Tibet regions of the Himalayas.
Grown at great heights, pure Pashmina is not only the finest, but also the oldest and probably the most luxurious hair fiber.
Pashmina is the finest and softest hair on the neck and stomach area of a Chang-Ra goat. The harsher the winter climate conditions, the longer the hair grows. And the longer the hair, the finer is the yarn spun from it. The best conditions for this are above 4500 m altitude. In the spring, when the Chang-Ra loses its winter coat, the fine, silky undercoat is combed out and collected. The hair on the neck and stomach area, which is the longest and of very high quality, makes up the noble Pashmina. A goat gives about 200 g of pashmina per year. The shorter hair of the goat is processed as “cashmere” fibre.
While a cashmere fiber should have a diameter of less than 19 microns, Pashmina is much finer: less than 15 microns. When this fine hair is spun, microscopic air pockets are created. They are the reason for the unique warmth and softness of real Pashmina.
Pashmina is the finest quality of cashmere. All Pashmina is cashmere, but not all cashmere is Pashmina.
Unfortunately, ‘Pashmina’ is not a protected brand name. If you want to know more about the WTO’s effort to protect and acknowledge ‘Kashmir Pashmina’, please click on the following link:
Our Pashminas
