Is Cashmere Yarn Humane?

Cashmere yarn is one of the most treasured animal hair yarns because of its incredible softness, but is it produced humanely?

The best quality cashmere yarn is produced by hand-combing wool from cashmere goats during the molting process. The process is time and labor intensive, accounting for the high price tag of most cashmere yarns. However, it is also relatively humane.

More recently, some producers have begun shearing the goats, but this produces lower quality wool and requires extra processing, so it is not as prevalent as hand-combing. Shearing can be humane or inhumane, depending on the skill and patience of the shearer. In general, smaller producers tend to shear more humanely because they have fewer animals to get through and the animals may be more habituated to human contact.

The majority of cashmere is produced in China, India, Pakistan, and Central Asia, where animal welfare standards are inconsistent. There are also growing problems with overgrazing due to cashmere production, contributing to desertification in Asia and  reducing the quality of life of both the goats and the local human population. The environmental costs of transport must also be taken into consideration when purchasing foreign cashmere.

However, there are a growing number of US producers, who use primarily the more humane hand-combing method of harvesting.