Cashmere

The goat's body is covered with coarse wool fibers, but underneath is soft, fine hair, and this soft, fine hair is the main factor that helps the goat survive in Mongolia's harsh winters. When the warm season starts in spring, from mid-March, depending on local conditions, goat herders start combing their goats with special combs to remove these fine and soft hairs. On average, only 120–350 grams of cashmere can be combed from one goat. For this reason, the processing, and production of cashmere clothing is limited compared to other materials, and therefore the production of cashmere clothing is expensive and considered a luxury product.

The natural colors of cashmere

Cashmere has 3 natural colors: White, gray and brown.

Color I - cashmere and hair are white, color II - cashmere is light white and the hair is yellow, red, and brown, color III - cashmere is light white and the hair is a mixture of white and black, color IV - cashmere is dyed dark, and the hair is dark. Color II is only found in very limited quantities, and it is often assumed that it is only produced in Mongolia. If Mongolian cashmere is broken down by color, about 60% is dark, 15% is red, 10% is gray, 10% is light gray and 5% is white cashmere. Depending on the region, the goat combing season lasts from the first week of March to the third week of May.

Cashmere quality is measured using 2 important indicators: Fiber diameter or micron and length of the fiber.

WHITE: Average length: 38 - 40 mm, hair content: 0.11 - 0.3%, dirt content: 0.1 - 0.5%, micron: 15 - 16.8 microns, moisture content: 15 ± 1%, oil: 0.6%.

LIGHT GREY: Average length: 38 - 40mm, hair content: 0.11 - 0.3%, dirt content: 0.1 - 0.5%, microns: 15 - 16.8 microns, moisture content: 15 ± 1%, oil: 0.6%

BROWN: Average length: 38 - 40mm, hair content: 0.11 - 0.3%, dirt content: 0.1 - 0.5%, microns: 15 - 16.8 microns, moisture content: 15 ± 1%, oil: 0.6%