Cashmere, also known as “golden fleece” or “king’s fiber”, is acquired from the undercoat, or ‘duvet’, of the Capra Hircus, a specific type of goat found in the mountainous regions of Asia, including Afghanistan, Iran, China and Mongolia, with the last two leading the market. According to the latest Textile Exchange’s PREFERRED FIBER & MATERIALS MARKET REPORT, around 26,121 tonnes of greasy cashmere fiber were produced globally in 2021. Around 58% of the cashmere was produced in China, 38% in Mongolia, and the remaining in other countries. The breeding of cashmere goats in Mongolia and in the Kashmir region predates recorded history, going back as far as the 3rd century BC. This goat has always been bred by nomads, following a millenary tradition, which has been handed down from generation to generation. The latter is essential both for the right breeding of these animals and the safeguarding of the environment they graze on. On the one hand, thanks to the constant nomad movement to new lands, goats can grow and maintain a valuable coat. On the other hand, the soil is given time to regenerate. The Hircus goats are combed or sheared once a year, once the harsh winter is over and spring has arrived, right when they start to naturally shed.

As for many other precious animal fibers, cashmere fibers’ exceptional characteristics are forged by nature. In fact, the Hircus goat has managed to survive in extreme habitats, featuring wide temperature fluctuations between seasons, with freezing, windy winters and hot, dry summers. This is the reason why it has developed an insulating undercoat consisting of thousands of particularly fine, smooth, soft and warm fibers, which are concentrated in a small area, under the dense and protextive outercoat, which allow the Capra Hircus to resist temperatures of -30°C.

It is estimated that from each animal, only from 200 to 300 grams of duvet are normally acquired, with production-processes-related losses still to be considered. This means that it takes approximately 4 goats to get enough material to manufacture a sweater. Ultimately, its high-qualty, the small quantity of fibers obtained from a goat and the fact that – according to the latest Textile Exchange’s Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Reporta 2022 – cashmere represents just 0.01% of the entire global fiber market, makes it really rare and – obviously – expensive.

Hircus goats eat a wider range of plants than sheep and it is estimated that they eat up to 10% of their body weight daily. The thing is they forage very aggressively and tend to consume the whole plant down to the root, literally “eliminating” it from the soil. Plus, their hooves pierce the soil and can damage topsoil and grass roots – preventing it from re-growing. All this is part of the animal’s DNA and it has always behaved like this, but when the number of goats is drastically increased and the land remains the same, it is obvious that the balanced cycle where they coexist will be broken. In fact, as the number of goats has grown from 4.3 million in 1985 to nearly 30 million in 2020, or seven times, the phenomenon of desertification has risen and is literally destroying the prairies of the Asian regions. According to data released by the Mongolian government, more than 50 percent of pastures have dried up. In 2016 more than 20 percent of pastures had been severely damaged, which is 13 percent more than just two years earlier. But that’s not it, with a higher demand, also intensive livestock farming has arrived, in which the mixing of livestock that is essential for regenerating the soil is lost: a certain number of Hircus goats should in fact be matched by a precise number of sheep in order to keep the soil fertile, because the former rip out the grass root, while the sheep do not. Unfortunately, this cohabitation is getting lost also among nomadic shepherds. This reality can be devastating for many nomadic herders, who feel they have no choice but to contribute to this destruction for the fashion system’s cashmere demand. Moreover, a study conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society found that due to this phenomenon, wildlife icons from the Tibetan Plateau to Mongolia suffer – including endangered snow leopard, wild yak, chiru, saiga, Bactrian camel, gazelles, and other remarkable but already endangered species of remote Central Asia.  

Following an increased demand of this precious fiber, farmers and herders started to comb or shear goats more often [combing is reported to hurt the animal, whereas shearing is quick and painless when done by experienced shearers]. The problem is that these animals have just little fat on their bodies, and if their protective coats are shorn in midwinter before natural moulting, the vulnerable animals can die of cold stress. The increased fiber demand has also affected nomadic herders, who have to increase the size of the herd to maintain their income while prices are reduced. With the lowering of material costs, farmers also face the risk of being underpaid, a common problem in fashion.