Cashmere comes from special goats, like cashmere and pashmina goats, and sometimes other breeds. It's a soft, special fiber that's been used for centuries, especially in beautiful shawls from Kashmir, which gave it its name. Cashmere goats grow a soft undercoat for warmth and a coarser outer hair. The soft part is used for clothes, while the coarse part goes into brushes. Cashmere can absorb moisture, helping keep you comfortable.
Countries like China and Mongolia make the most cashmere today. Sometimes stores sell things claiming to have cashmere but don't actually contain much of it. Making cashmere can hurt the environment because overgrazing damages the land, making it dry and hot. Cashmere is collected mainly in the spring when goats shed their winter fur. People gather it by hand or shear the goats, though different methods give different quality. It's then cleaned and prepared for making sweaters, coats, scarves, and more. The US has rules to make sure cashmere labels are honest. Cashmere is valuable, and the market keeps growing. It has a long history, loved for its softness and warmth for thousands of years.
