Home

Definition of Cashmere

The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute defines cashmere as:

• The fine (dehaired) undercoat fibers produced by a Cashmere goat (Capra hircus laniger).
• The fiber is generally non-medullated and has a mean maximum diameter of 19 microns. The co-efficient of variation around the mean shall not exceed 24%. There can be no more than 3% (by weight) of cashmere fibers over 30 microns. (Reference IWTO Test Method 8-89).

The U.S. Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939, as amended, (U.S.C. 15 Section 68b(a)(6)) defines cashere as:

1. (A) the fine (dehaired) undercoat fibers produced by a cashmere goat (capra hircus laniger);
2. (B) the average diameter of the fiber of such wool product not exceeding 19 microns; and
3. (C) containing not more than 3 percent (by weight) of cashmere fibers with average diameters that exceed 30 microns. The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent.