Cashmere fiber comes from cashmere goats found in regions like China, Mongolia, and Kashmir. It has been produced for thousands of years. Cashmere fiber is finer, softer, and warmer than ordinary wool. It has a diameter of 7-19 microns. The annual global production of cashmere is around 15,000-20,000 tons. Cashmere goes through processes like grading, washing, dehairing, and carding to produce yarn and textiles. It is used in high-end apparel, accessories, home goods, and other applications due to its soft, warm properties and moisture-wicking ability.

1. Cashmere Fiber

2. Outline:
•Introduction
•History
•Structure
•Production &Processing
-Grading
-Washing
-Dehairing
-Carding
•Properties
•Advantages & Disadvantages
•Application

3. Introduction
Usually known as cashmere wool obtained from
Cashmere goats .
 Breed name: Capra hircus laniger.

4. Introduction
It is 8 times warmer & 3 times more
insulating than ordinary wool. Finer, lighter
and softer.
Most cashmere comes from goats in the
Gobi Desert, which stretches from Northern
China into Mongolia.

5. History
• Cashmere has been manufactured
in Mongolia, Nepal and Kashmir for thousands
of years.
• Pashmina, which comes from the Persian
word for wool.
• The name ‘Cashmere’ was in the 16th century.
• In the 18th century Cashmere goat imported
down from Tibet and Tartary through Ladakh.

6. History
• Cashmere producing areas are Himalayan region
extending east to China and west to Iran. In 19th
century.
• In 1949 there were around 2.4 million goats in
Mongolia but there were 25.8 million in 2004.
• Today, almost 3,000 tones produced annually come
from Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan and New Zealand.

7. Structure

8. Structure

9. Structure

10. Structure
• The fiber of cashmere is about 3.5-7 cm
(1.5-3 inches) of staple length.
• The diameter of cashmere fiber is 7-19 microns
and an average of 14 microns.
• It is of gray-brown color while raw cashmere
naturally form the goat in only three colors of
white, gray and brown.

11. Structure

12. Production
• 70% of world’s cashmere is produced in China.
• Outer Mongolia at 15-20%, Iran and Afghanistan
at a combined 10-15%.
• There are some small weights of cashmere
produced in the Central Asian Countries of
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, in Turkey,
India, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

13. Production
• The annual world clip is estimated to be
between 15000-2000 tons in which yearly an
average goat produce 150 grams (0.33 lb).
• Kashmir goats only produce 4-6 ounces per
year.
• Goat only produce good quality cashmere
until round 4 or 5 years of age.

14. Processing

15. Processing
Grading:
Cashmere is collected during the
spring season when goats naturally shed their
hair.
Harvested hairs are sorted according to
quality, width and length. Short, coarser hairs
are discarded with a course of comb.

16. Shearing & Combing

17. Grading

18. Processing
Washing:
It is a cleaning
process which removes
the grease, sweat and
dirt from the fiber
before being rinsed in
clean water and passes
through squeeze rolls
and dried in a hot air
chamber.

19. Processing
Dehairing:
Dehairing is the process of
separating undesirable matter, including guard
hair from shorter, finer and softer fibers.

20. Processing
Carding:
Carding is a mechanical process that
parallelized, cleans and blends fibers to
produce a continuous sliver suitable for the
yarn manufacturing.

21. Processing

22. Properties
• Cashmere is soft, silk, smooth and
resilient and also very warm.
• The capacity of cashmere moisture
regain is up to 15%.
• It has tensile strength of 6.06-7.85
cN/tex.
• It is a normal heat resistant and is kept
under 30°C.

23. Advantages
• Moisture absorption.
• Natural fire resistant.
• Dust & bacteria prevent.
• Electric resistance.
• Good feel & is very comfortable.
• Delicate Nature. (won’t use as hardware)
• Biodegradable.
• Easy to dye.

24. Disadvantages
• Highly expensive.
• Delicate Nature. (requires lot of
maintenance)
• Easley attacked by moths.
• Pilling, if not dehaired properly.

25. Application
• Cashmere is used to make accessories such as
gloves, scarves and shawls.
• It is used in apparel like sweaters, socks,
blazers, coats, jackets and underwear.
• Coarser cashmere is used for rugs and carpets,
bedding.
• Camping and Sports Equipment