We are at peak season for holiday gift-giving. While savvy environmentalists avoid fast fashion, clothing is always a popular choice, and nothing says luxury like cashmere. Unlike synthetic fibers, cashmere is a natural, biodegradable fiber, but it is an expensive choice due to limited supply, high demand, and being labor-intensive. Let’s weigh the environmental and ethical pros and cons of cashmere before deciding if it’s a sustainable gift worth giving.
What is cashmere?
Cashmere wool comes from the soft undercoat of cashmere goats raised in the Asian Highlands, including China and Mongolia, and from countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. The extreme temperature fluctuations in such regions cause the goats to grow think warm undercoats that are prized for their warmth, softness, and beauty.
What makes conventional cashmere unsustainable?
The sustainability of cashmere depends on responsible production practices. High demand for cashmere has led to overgrazing, desertification, poor animal welfare in some regions, and inadequate compensation to goat herders, making conventional cashmere an unsustainable choice. Heavy water usage during the washing and dyeing processes of wool is another contributor to cashmere’s environmental footprint.
Is cashmere cruel?
Despite bucolic scenes of herders with sheep happily grazing on mountaintops, the cashmere industry is not all its marketed to be. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) vehemently opposes cashmere because of the treatment of goats, including painful and distressing shearing with sharp tools, exposure to cold and the elements after shearing, lack of veterinary care, and the eventual inhumane slaughter practices of unproductive animals. To learn more about ethical vs. conventional cashmere, visit HERE.
PETA also considers cashmere to be “the most environmentally destructive of all the animal derived fibres,” despite the assurances of certifications. Extensive land-clearing must be done to create pastures, plus, goats eat vast quantities of grass - roots and all - which can prevent regrowth. Land degredation in general is caused by climate change, deforestation, overgrazing, and agricultural practices that result in the loss of vegetation, water, and biodiversity of insects, birds, and other wildlife, turning once-productive land into a desert-like state. Mongolia, for example, is home to 27 million cashmere goats, and the grasslands required to feed the herds is rapidly deteriorating, putting 90% of the country’s land at risk of desertification.
Do cashmere goats contribute to global warming?
Like all ruminating animals, cashmere goats produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, through digestion, and the transportation of wool from remote regions to manufacturing centers is responsible for high carbon emissions.
What can make cashmere more sustainable?
Initiatives like OKEO-TEX, Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA), Good Cashmere Standard, Responsible Wool Standard (RSW), and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) claim that certified cashmere is produced using sustainable practices like responsible land management, humane treatment of animals, and fair labor conditions. The following actions have also enhanced the sustainability of some cashmere sources:
- Degraded land can be restored through reforestation and rotational grazing, which moves herds to different pastures, prevents overgrazing, allows vegetation to recover, improves soil health, helps water retention, and supports biodiversity.
- Collaborations with local communities meet the growing demand for cashmere by providing resources and education for more sustainable land management.
- Consumers can explore recycled, vintage, or second- cashmere, or shop from brands that use ethical and traceable sourcing. Here are 9 Sustainable Cashmere Brands.
- Advances in fiber processing such as more efficient spinning and weaving technologies reduce energy consumption and waste.
- Digital tools that track and verify sustainable practices ensure transparency and accountability.
- Blending cashmere with more sustainable fibers like bamboo or recycled materials reduces dependence on virgin cashmere and reduces environmental impact.
- Lab-grown or synthetic cashmere alternatives have been developed to mimic the properties of natural cashmere.
- Increased consumer awareness drives standards across the industry.
If sustainability is an important factor in whether or not you buy cashmere, you will need to decide if the various factors above compensate adequately for the drawbacks and apply to the brands you are shopping.
Sources and further reading:
Photo by Adrian Rowe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://goodonyou.eco/material-guide-how-ethical-is-cashmere/
https://www.woolfacts.com/is-wool-sustainable/greenhouse-gases-and-wool/
https://www.gobicashmere.com/us/blogs/fashion/how-to-build-a-sustainable-cashmere-wardrobe/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertification
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