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CCMI in the News
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Mongolian Cold Freezes Supply Of Cheap Cashmere
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Karl
Spilhaus, president of CCMI, was interviewed for an article, “Mongolian Cold
Freezes Supply Of Cheap Cashmere”, that appeared in The Times (London, England)
on February 17, 2001.
The following is an excerpt from that article, which was written by Helen Rumbelow:
It
is the extreme temperatures of Inner Mongolia that make its cashmere the
most sought after: the goats have to produce the finest and warmest pelts
to survive. This is the region to which the majority of the world’s cashmere
buyers will travel in the next few weeks, Karl Spilhaus, president of the
Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute said.
Cashmere had
become extraordinarily cheap in the past few years, mainly because of the
Asian economic crisis. This had created a huge demand from mainstream customers
who grew used to buying the luxurious fabric for not much more than the cost
of sheep’s wool.
“The sudden increase in demand combined with harsh
winter conditions has spiked up the price,” Mr. Spilhaus said. “The fact
that it became available so cheaply is not necessarily good for the better
cashmere producers. Now the cycle of it becoming exclusive seems to begin
again.”
One option for high street stores is to use cashmere from
goats in Iran and Afghanistan, which have lighter and coarser wool that produces
material of interior quality.
Mr. Spilhaus said the danger was that
traders would be tempted to try to satisfy demand by blending cashmere with
angora wool. “We have tested cashmere in British shops and found it to be
dodgy in a number of stores,” he said. “They will now have to be extra vigilant.”
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