What's The Difference Between Pashmina And Cashmere Wool?

Cashmere Pashmina wool has attracted the world with its excellent quality and beauty. Cashmere Pashmina is often referred to as Soft Gold. The pashmina wool is extracted from the cashmere or pashmina goats found in the hilly region of India. The ancestral home of the pashmina goats is located in the Changthangi plateau in Ladakh, India. The harsh conditions of the climate in those regions are the reason for the softest wool of the goat's undercoat. However, Pashmina is recognized as cashmere in maximum parts of the world.

By the end of the 18th century, the Pashmina shawls arrived in Europe full-fledged and took over the French fashion industry and European markets by an uprising. There was a huge demand for pashmina/ cashmere shawls, especially among the women in aristocratic high society. The pashmina shawls once found in the closets of royals and nobles began entering provincial markets by the beginning of the 19th century, particularly in France and Scotland. The fine-quality Pashmina shawls were transported from Kashmir in India to the European market. Later, Pashmina was re-christened as Cashmere once it arrived in Europe.

Though 100% cashmere shawl, especially its fabric, has its lineage in pashmina, No one can find any distinctions between cashmere and pashmina materials. Pashmina is the wool collected from a special breed of goats found in the Himalayas plateau. It is also known as ‘Changthangi goats,’ named after that particular plateau which was the home to pashmina goats for several centuries. However, they are being reared in regions like Nepal, Tibet, and parts of Burma, Ladakh, India, and other higher altitudes enclosing places and barren regions in India.

Because of the high demand for good quality wool, regions like Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Bhutan, Australia, and Turkey have started breeding cashmere goats. As a result, almost 400 million pashminas (cashmere) goats are reared in the world. During Spring, the goats shed their winter cover naturally. Pashmina or Cashmere wool is then combed out from the undercoat ( from the neck region and part) of the goat.

Similar to the Pashmina, Cashmere wool also comes from a goat. Pashmina wool is collected from the fibers of a special kind of goat called the Changthangi species of goats, while Cashmere wool is obtained from other goats. The surrounding climatic conditions highly influence the fabric quality of the wool. The Changthangi goats can inhabit at the height of almost more than 4000 m above sea level and an extreme temperature of – 40º in winters. These goats have very little fat deposition under the skin to safeguard them in the winter, particularly in the cold arid grasslands; therefore, they acquire soft fibers underneath their hairs, especially around their neck and underbelly region. As the temperature increases, the goats shed their hair naturally. The shepherds comb their fine coats, filter them by hand and take them for weaving after proper cleaning and detailing the wool. 

Finally, to conclude this article, Pashmina wool is a type of cashmere wool reared from a particular breed of goat, but all cashmere cannot be called pashmina. Cashmere and Pashmina both have unique characteristics and are known as the most elegant and expensive materials in the world today. 

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