cashmere, animal-hair fibre forming the downy undercoat of the Kashmir goat and belonging to the group of textile fibres called specialty hair fibres. Although the word cashmere is sometimes incorrectly applied to extremely soft wools, only the product of the Kashmir goat is true cashmere.
The fibre, known as pashm or pashmina in some parts of Asia, became known for its use in beautiful shawls and other handmade items produced in Kashmir, India. In the early 19th century cashmere shawls reached their greatest popularity, and the shawls of England, France, and the town of Paisley, Scot., were made to imitate the original Kashmir shawls.
The cashmere goat has a protective outer coat of coarse fibre that is 4 to 20 cm (1.5 to 8 inches) in length. The downy undercoat is made up of the fine, soft fibre commonly called cashmere, which ranges from 2.5 to 9 cm (1 to 3.5 inches) long. Most of this down fibre is plucked or combed out by hand during the molting season. Iranian cashmere, however, is obtained by shearing. The annual yield per animal ranges from a few grams to about 0.5 kilogram. A sweater requires the fleece of 4 to 6 goats; an overcoat uses the production of 30 to 40. Some fibre, called pulled cashmere, is taken from the skins of slaughtered animals.
The fleece is cleaned to remove such impurities as grease and vegetable matter. Coarse hairs are removed by various mechanical dehairing processes that are frequently kept secret by their developers. Processing reduces the final yield by about 50 percent. The amount of coarse hair remaining greatly affects price, with fibre having the lowest hair content commanding the highest price. High-quality cashmere-coating fabrics usually contain less than 5 percent of the coarse hair; fine-quality sweaters contain less than 1 percent. The scales forming the outer layer, or epidermis, of the fine fibre are less distinct than those of wool although more definite than in mohair; the cortical layer is striated and contains varying amounts of pigment that produce the fibre colour; and there is no distinct medulla (central canal). The fibres have diameters finer than those of the best wools. The Kashmir goats of China and Mongolia yield fibre with diameters ranging from 14.5 to 16.5 micrometres; that of Iranian goats is 17.5 to 19.5 micrometres. Colour, usually gray or tan, varies from white to black.
Fabric made of cashmere is warm and comfortable to the wearer, and it has excellent draping qualities and soft texture. The fibre, which absorbs and retains moisture much like wool, is somewhat weaker than fine wool and considerably weaker than mohair. It is highly susceptible to damage by strong alkalies and high temperatures. Dark fibres are bleached to obtain light shades, although the process may reduce strength and softness. Cashmere fabrics are subject to abrasion in wearing; pilling, or bunching together of surface fibres, is a problem in knitwear.
Cashmere is used mainly for fine coat, dress, and suit fabrics and for high-quality knitwear and hosiery. It is sometimes blended with other fibres. The strong, coarse hair separated from the down is used locally for grain bags, ropes, blankets, and tent curtains. Because world production is so small and gathering and processing are costly, cashmere is a luxury fibre. Demand and, consequently, price are affected by fashion trends. New man-made fibres with similar texture and fineness, produced at much lower cost, have become a source of competition.
The major producers of cashmere are China, Mongolia, and Iran. Cashmere is also produced on the Indian subcontinent and in Afghanistan and Turkey. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan are leading consumers.