How Cashmere Is Made: From Mountain Goat to Luxury Textile

Cashmere is among the world's most prized natural fibres, yet few people know how it actually gets from a goat to a finished luxury shawl. The process is longer, more labour-intensive, and more extraordinary than you might expect — which goes a long way towards explaining why quality cashmere commands the prices it does.

Step 1: The Cashmere Goat

True cashmere comes from the Capra hircus — the Cashmere or Pashmina goat — bred primarily in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, China, Afghanistan, Kashmir and parts of Central Asia. These animals live at extreme altitude, often above 3,000 metres, where winter temperatures regularly fall below -30°C. To survive, they grow a fine, dense undercoat beneath their coarser outer guard hairs — and it's this undercoat that becomes cashmere.

Step 2: Combing — Never Shearing

Unlike sheep, which are sheared for their wool, cashmere goats are combed. In spring, as temperatures rise, the goats naturally shed their winter undercoat. Herders comb through the coat with fine-toothed combs to collect the soft underfibre before it is lost. A single goat yields just 150–200 grams of raw cashmere per year — a fraction of what a sheep produces. This is why cashmere is so rare and valuable.

Step 3: Dehairing — Separating Fine from Coarse

Raw cashmere contains both the fine undercoat fibres (cashmere) and the coarser guard hairs (kemp). These must be separated — a process called dehairing — using a mechanical process that exploits the different diameters of the two fibre types. Only fibres under 18.5 microns qualify as true cashmere. The finest fibres (under 15.5 microns) are separated for Grade AAA production.

Step 4: Washing and Dyeing

The dehaired cashmere is washed to remove lanolin and any remaining dirt. Then it is dyed — either in fibre form (before spinning) for deeper colour penetration, or in yarn form (after spinning) for particular colour effects. Natural dye processes are increasingly used by ethical producers, though achieving consistent colour requires significant expertise.

Step 5: Spinning

Washed, dyed cashmere fibres are carded (combed into alignment) and then spun into yarn. The count — how tightly and finely the yarn is spun — determines how the finished fabric will feel and drape. Finer spinning produces lighter, more fluid fabric; thicker spinning produces warmer, denser weaves.

Step 6: Weaving or Knitting

Cashmere yarn is either woven on a loom (for shawls, wraps and blankets) or knitted (for jumpers, cardigans and scarves). Woven cashmere tends to drape more beautifully and shows off the lustre of the fibre particularly well. Traditional Kashmiri shawls are woven on hand looms — a process so specialised that a single patterned shawl can take months to complete.

Step 7: Finishing

Finished cashmere is washed again to relax the fibres, then brushed to raise the soft nap that gives cashmere its characteristic cloud-like handle. Fringing, hemming, embroidery and any personalisation is added at this final stage.

How Many Goats Does It Take?

A standard 70×200cm cashmere shawl requires approximately 300–400 grams of finished cashmere. Given that each goat yields 150–200 grams of raw fibre (with significant waste in dehairing and processing), a single shawl represents the annual contribution of three to five goats. A cashmere blanket requires even more. This scarcity is not manufactured — it is the genuine arithmetic of the material.

What Makes CloudSpun Different

We source our cashmere directly from verified suppliers in Inner Mongolia and Kashmir who adhere to strict animal welfare and environmental standards. Every batch is tested for fibre diameter and length before it enters our supply chain. We do not blend cashmere with other fibres or use chemical softeners — what you feel is the natural handle of the fibre itself.