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Mislabeled Cashmere In The United Kingdom

Karl Spilhaus, President of CCMI was interviewed by the BBC Radio 4 consumer affairs program "You and Yours", on December 20, 2000, on the growing problem of mislabeled cashmere in the United Kingdom.

The following is a transcript of the broadcast:

Interviewer: Now the cashmere or pashmina nestling under your Christmas tree to give to your nearest and dearest, are you happy that it is 100% cashmere? The label may say so but it may not be as it seems. The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute has been testing products from High Street retailers and has discovered that labels can't always be believed despite being labelled as 100% cashmere, many items have high percentages of sheep's wool and in one case, there was no cashmere at all. Karl Spilhaus is from the CCMI and he joins me from the headquarters in Boston:

Karl, why did you undertake this research in the first place?

Karl: We have been concerned for several years about the integrity of the labelling of cashmere. Cashmere is a very expensive fibre and we are aware of a considerable amount of fraud being perpetrated. We have known about it in the American market and in view of some high raw material price increases in the last year it has been obvious to us that there would be adulteration of the 100% cashmere products available on the European market and, for that reason, we have undertaken this research.

Interviewer: So you're putting it down to the price of the cashmere rather than the unscrupulous manufacturers.

Karl: I am putting it down to both. The raw material, the difference in price between cashmere and sheep's wool, is an incentive to an unscrupulous manufacturer to mix in sheep's wool and sell the product as 100% cashmere.

Interviewer: What about the companies actually selling these items? One company that you discovered wasn't selling 100% cashmere, when it was saying that it was, was Tesco's. But should companies like that be much more responsible about the checking they do before they put their products on the shelf?

Karl: The companies have a responsibility for the integrity of the labelling, that is correct, and the only way they can protect themselves and their consumers is to do their own testing on the product.

Interviewer: So what about customers; what can customers do? Presumably, it is very hard to tell the difference between the real thing, 100% cashmere, and something that is mixed.

Karl: It is very hard to tell and that is why we have to fight for proper labelling. That is why you have very strict regulations in the UK and you have trading standards who enforce it as well as organisations like ours. The consumer needs to shop carefully and wisely and be careful of some of these bargain items. Cashmere is like gold and diamonds; it is a rare, finite commodity and it will be expensive.

Interviewer: Karl Spilhaus, thank you very much indeed for joining us. We spoke to Tesco's about this and they told us that they have been working very closely with CCMI to resolve the problem. They bought jumpers in good faith; initial tests did not show any cause for concern and as soon as they received the letter from the CCMI on ladies jumpers they withdrew them from sale. They since have withdrawn men's jumpers after receiving a second letter.