The History of Cashmere
The origins
Cashmere is rightly, considered the jewel in the crown of fabrics. It is the most precious and luxurious of fabrics, with a history spanning over centuries and involving some of the most isolated parts of the planet.
The term ‘cashmere’ arrived in the 16th Century, and was used to describe the shawls spun by Kashmiri craftsmen on the Silk Route bound for India. In the late 18th century, cashmere shawls were being exported to the West, particularly to Britain and France. Arriving first in Paris, it quickly became the most sought after, and expensive, status symbol of the day. Cashmere was bought by women from the wealthy upper classes, who kept themselves warm as they dressed in Neo-Classical style with short-sleeved, high-waisted dresses.
What is Cashmere and Where Does it Come From?
Cashmere Origin Country- Kashmir region of India.
Why is the luxurious natural fabric that has its origins in Nepal, Mongolia, and China named after the Indian province?
Biblical references and Afghan historical texts mention the production of wool scarves in Kashmir and prove that the process goes back as far as the 3rd century BC.
It is thus proven that people used these fine fibres for thousands of years in Mongolia, Nepal, and Kashmir.
“Cashmere” Origin of Word
Because the processing of the wool was first developed in the region of Kashmir; the name of the region has thus become the generic name of the fabric.
When was cashmere invented (Story from Kashmir to Cashmere)
Production of wool under the name cashmere began when Ali Hamdani fetched some fine undercoat fibers from a cashmere goat and made socks, scarves, and caps. He gave socks to the King of Kashmir and recommended that the King start making scarves from this wool.
Afterwards he gifted those socks to the king of Kashmir, Sultan Qutubdin (1374-89 AD). The Sultan was amazed by their durability and fineness. That was the starting point of the usage of the cashmere wool.
What is cashmere made of?
Benchmark for Cashmere
In the United States, under the U.S. Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, as amended, (15 U. S. Code Section 68b(a)(6)), a wool or textile product may be labelled as containing cashmere only if the following criteria are met:
- Such wool product is the fine (de haired) undercoat fibres produced by a cashmere goat (Capra hircus laniger);
- The average diameter of the fiber of such wool product does not exceed 19 microns; and
- Such a wool product does not contain more than 3 percent (by weight) of cashmere fibres with average diameters that exceed 30 microns.
- The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent.
