Cashmere is one of the most popular winter materials in the world. It is warm, soft and a luxurious choice when temperatures drop below 0 degrees Celsius. Cashmere is an absolute staple in fall and winter, something like a white T-shirt for summer. When you don't know what to wear, start with a cashmere sweater as a base, and the rest of the outfit won't take long, because cashmere goes with anything.
Cashmere sweaters, although much warmer than regular wool or cotton sweaters, are not much thicker than a classic T-shirt. A thin layer is enough instead of shaggy, heavy sweaters that you'll drag around town as an extra burden to your purse full of stuff. The technical parameters of warmth and therefore the practicality of cashmere sweaters also captivate men's thinking.
Here are some basic information and insights you should definitely know about cashmere. They will help you better orient yourself in the at first glance confusing cashmere world.
- Cashmere wool comes from goats native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and China. Roughly 80% of raw cashmere comes from Mongolia. But roughly 70% of the world's cashmere clothing production comes from China.
- Cashmere is the finest undercoat of Kashmiri goats, which is called the undercoat. The best quality cashmere must have the correct fiber diameter and sufficient fiber length.
- An annual production of 3-5 goats is required to produce one cashmere sweater.
- No animals are harmed when cashmere is collected - it's like cutting hair. Cashmere processing is mainly done by hand combing.
- Longer and finer fibers are a sign of higher quality.
- Category A cashmere (the highest quality) has a fiber diameter of 14-15.5 microns (human hair is 50-100 microns).
- Washing cashmere garments requires extra care, but often just letting the garment air out for 24 hours will help remove any odors. So you can wash a sweater much less often than synthetic materials.
Cashmere is not only a symbol of luxury, but also a practical and comfortable material that will add flair and, above all, warmth to any wardrobe!