About Pashmina

Traditionally, Pashmina refers to a type of fine cashmere wool and the textiles made from it. The origin of the name is often said to come from the persian pashmineh, meaning made from wool ( pashm). Real cashmere comes from the soft underbelly hair of the capra hircus goat, which is a special breed of goat indigenous to high altitudes of the Himalayas. Although traditionally the centre of cashmere production was nepal, nowadays China is the worlds largest producer, with the mongolian steppes providing ideal conditions for the goats to thrive.

The fine cashmere wool would be blended with silk to give it more strength (often in the ratio of 30% silk to 70% cashmere), and the word pashmina is often said to refer to this blend. This added strength also allows patterns to be woven into the pashmina shawl using the jaquard technique.

However nowadays pashmina has come to mean a generic type of large shawl and can be made from many materials. Although expensive pashminas are still made from cashmere or a cashmere and silk blend, at the lower end of the market you will find ordinary wool or even viscose substituted for the cashmere.

As each goat yields only a small amount of high quality cashmere each year, true cashmere pashminas are still expensive. The cashmere and camel hair manufacturers institute (CCMI) runs an authentification program and will give a free authenticity test on cashmere items. Expect to pay at least around £50 for a true cashmere pashmina.

How to wear your pashmina