Pashmina shawls

Pashmina refers to a type of fine cashmere wool and the textiles made from it.^[1][2] The name comes from Pashmineh (پشمینه), made from Persian pashm ("wool").^[2] The wool comes from changthangi or pashmina goat, which is a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas in Nepal, Pakistan and northern India. Pashmina shawls are hand spun, woven and embroidered in Kashmir, and made from fine cashmere fibre.^[1][3]

History[link]

The fibre is also known as pashm or pashmina for its use in the handmade shawls of Himalayas.^[4] The woolen shawls made in Kashmir find written mention in Afghan texts between 3rd century BC and the 11th century AD.^[5] However, the founder of the cashmere wool industry is traditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who introduced weavers from Central Asia.^{[6] [5]}

Pashmina goats, Ladakh

Cashmere shawls have been manufactured in Nepal and Kashmir for thousands of years. The test for a quality pashmina is warmth and feel. Pashmina and Cashmere are derived from mountain goats. One distinct difference between Pashmina and Cashmere is the fiber diameter. Pashmina fibers are finer and thinner than cashmere fiber, therefore, it is ideal for making light weight apparel like fine scarves. Today, however, the word PASHMINA has been used too liberally and many scarves made from natural or synthetic fiber are sold as Pashmina creating confusion in the market.

Some people believe Pashmina from Nepal are the best in quality because of the conditions to which the mountain goats have adapted over centuries. The high Himalayas of Nepal has a harsh, cold climate and in order to survive, the mountain goats have developed exceptionally warm and light fiber which may be slightly coarser and warmer than cashmere fibers obtained from lower region goats. Nepali pashmina is called Changra Pashmina. But the fact is, Ladakh pashmina is also similar to the Nepali pashmina as the Ladakhi pashmina is produced in similar high altitudes of chanthan on the India\China border at Kashmir. There we find very cold temperatures, and the climate is very supportive to the pashmina breed of goat. To survive the freezing environment at 14,000 feet altitude, it grows a unique, incredibly soft pashm (inner coat) six times finer than human hair. Because it is only 14-19 microns in diameter, it cannot be spun by machines, so the wool is hand-woven into cashmere products including shawls, scarves, wraps, throws, stoles etc. for export worldwide. Pashmina is the name given to it as Iranians came to Kashmir via the routes of Drass Ladakh, and found it very soft and tough in quality. Pashmina is the Persian (Farsi) word "pashm" meaning soft and silky, so we can compare the Ladakhi pashmina with original Nepali pashmina. Kashmir pashmina has been famous for centuries due to its quality and products like plain pashmina, woven jamawars, embroided pashmina, ladies and gents 6 & 7 yards. It is history that Mogul emperor king Akbar presented a gift of Kashmir jamawar to the Queen of England.

Production[link]

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The goat sheds its winter coat every spring. One goat sheds approximately 80-170g (3-6 ounces) of the fibre. See also Cashmere wool.

To meet the demand, 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. The location also has acres of grazing ground to produce cashmere economically and commercially. In the spring (the moulting season), the goats shed the inner wool, which regrows in winter. The inner wool is collected and spun to produce cashmere. Today, the quality of the cashmere produced in the Gobi Desert is oftentimes higher than that produced in the Himalayas, due to a more consistent manufacturing process and increased modernization of the Chinese. To reduce the cost and increase their competitive advantage, farmers sell their cashmere below the cost price, which does not include the environmental damage caused by millions of cashmere goats. Unlike sheep, the cashmere goat not only feeds on the grass but also the roots of the grass. This desert forming is also responsible for the yearly sandstorm in China's capital Beijing.

Pashmina products[link]

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A stack of pashmina fabric

A Kashmiri man sells a pashmina shawl from Kashmir in a market in Delhi, India.

Pashmina accessories are available in a range of sizes, from "scarf" 12 × 60 in (0.30 × 1.5 m) to "wrap" or "stole" 28 × 80 in (0.71 × 2.0 m) to full sized shawl 36 × 80 in (0.91 × 2.0 m) and in rare cases, "Macho" 12 × 12 ft (3.7 × 3.7 m). Pure pashmina is a rather gauzy, open weave, as the fibre cannot tolerate high tension. The most popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend, but 50/50 is also common. The 70/30 is tightly woven, has an elegant sheen and drapes nicely, but is still quite soft and light-weight.

They are known for their softness and warmth. A craze for pashminas in the mid-1990s resulted in high demand for pashminas, so demand exceeded supply. When pashmina shawls rose into fashion prominence during the era, they were marketed dubiously. Cashmere used for pashmina shawls was claimed to be of a superior quality, which was in truth due to the enhanced sheen and softness that the fabric (cashmere blended with silk) had. In the consuming markets, pashmina shawls were redefined as a shawl/wrap with cashmere and silk, notwithstanding the actual meaning of pashmina. Some shawls marketed as pashmina shawls contain wool,^[1] while other unscrupulous companies marketed the man-made fabric viscose as "pashmina" with deceptive marketing statements such as "authentic viscose pashmina".

The word "pashmina" is not a labeling term recognized by law in the United States. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission:

"Some manufacturers use the term pashmina to describe an ultra fine cashmere fiber; others use the term to describe a blend of cashmere and silk. The FTC encourages manufacturers and sellers of products described as pashmina to explain to consumers, on a hangtag, for example, what they mean by the term. As with all other wool products, the fiber content of a shawl, scarf or other item marketed as pashmina must be accurately disclosed. For example, a blend of cashmere and silk might be labeled 50% Cashmere, 50% Silk or 70% Cashmere, 30% Silk, depending upon the actual cashmere and silk content. If the item contains only cashmere, it should be labeled 100% Cashmere or All Cashmere. The label cannot say 100% Pashmina, as pashmina is not a fiber recognized by the Wool Act or regulations.^[7]

See also[link]

• Shahmina - type of shawl made from Pashmina with a fiber diameter of 13 micrometres
• Shahtoosh - specific kind of shawl, woven with the down hair of the Tibetan antelope

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Pashmina at Wikimedia Commons

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Jeanne Robertson or Jeanne Swanner Robertson is a nationally recognized humorist and professional speaker. In 1963, at age 18, she was named Miss North Carolina. Robertson credits her reign as the catalyst for her career.^[1] Her anecdotes can be heard daily on XM Radio's Channel 96, Laugh USA and Sirius Radio's Blue Collar Comedy channel 103 (XM 97) and Laugh Break channel 105. She bases her humor on real-life situations.^[2]

References[link]

1. ^ "Meet Jeanne Robertson — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC". wunc.org. http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot1214abc09.mp3/view. Retrieved 2010-02-15. 
2. ^ "Want to help people in Haiti but don't know how? Here are some options". thetimesnews.com. http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/span-31684-family-arial.html. Retrieved 2010-02-15. 

External links[link]

• Official Website

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