What is cashmere?
Cashmere is an extremely soft, luxurious fabric made from the hair of the Cashmere goat, native to Kashmir in Northwest India, Tibet, Turkestan, Iran, Iraq and China.
The goats are found in the highest mountain ranges – an important point as the mountain territory’s temperature extremes are critical to the quality of fibre. The Cashmere mountain goat is one of very few animals that can survive in this environment, and the conditions mean that the goat produces the finest yet strongest hair fibres of any animal. Once shorn, the fleece must be separated from the coarser “guard hair” and so the resulting yield per goat is very small, which contributes to the global opinion of cashmere as a precious and luxury commodity.
Why Pringle Cashmere?
Pringle of Scotland is synonymous with cashmere. We are proud to still make many of our cashmere garments in Scotland, the home and heart of Pringle.
Our cashmere uses the finest white fibres, from the chest and the underbelly of goats found mainly in the mountain ranges of China and Tibet. Traditionally the goats were combed to obtain the fibres, but as shearing puts the animal under less stress, it is now the more common practice in the Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi areas where our cashmere is sourced.
We are committed to protecting animal welfare, and proud to work with suppliers who operate unique tracing and quality management systems to provide transparency and traceability for where their cashmere is obtained. The unique Pringle of Scotland cashmere handfeel owes its qualities to a specific milling process as well as a degree of tension and twist perfected over 200 years. This allows our cashmere to mature and soften as it is washed, worn and loved.
