Pashmina: what it is and how to tell if it is genuine

The word “pashmina” is printed on thousands of shawls that have nothing to do with the real thing. Here is what it is, where it comes from and what to look for before you buy.

What pashmina is

Pashmina is the finest grade of cashmere. The raw material is the same: the soft undercoat of goats that live high in the Himalayas, where winters are harsh. In Nepal this goat is called the chyangra.

The difference is fineness. According to the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association, for a yarn to be called pashmina its fibre must be under 15 microns. Cashmere is around 19 microns. For comparison, a human hair is several tens of microns thick.

The Chyangra Pashmina mark

To protect the product from imitations, Nepal created the collective mark Chyangra Pashmina. By 2018 it had been approved by 47 countries, including the European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan. The mark shows that the product meets quality standards, that it was made with environmentally friendly methods and that no children worked on it.

There is a detail few people mention: most of the fibre woven in Nepal comes from other countries in the region. Nepali pashmina is above all the craft of weaving and finishing. That is why it matters who makes it and what the label says.

How to spot the real thing

• Read the composition. “100% cashmere” or “100% pashmina” means pure. Silk blends, usually 70/30, are genuine pashmina too, as long as the label says so clearly.
• Look at the price. A real pashmina shawl does not cost the same as a synthetic scarf. A very low price is the first warning sign.
• Do not trust touch alone. Modern synthetics are very soft. Even experts say quality cannot be judged by hand alone.
• Ask about origin. Who wove it, where, and whether it carries the Chyangra Pashmina mark.
• The burn test, carefully. Use a thread from the fringe, not the shawl itself: natural fibre burns with a smell of burnt hair and turns to ash, while synthetic fibre melts into a hard bead and smells of plastic.

Care

• Hand wash in cold water with a mild shampoo or wool detergent, or dry clean.
• Never wring it. Press it gently in a towel.
• Dry it flat, away from the sun.
• Store it folded, not hung, with cedar or lavender against moths.

We are preparing a small collection of pashmina from Nepal, with the composition clearly stated on every piece. Sign up to see it before anyone else.