This deep purple shawl is made of pure pashmina, the intens soft undercoat of the Pashmina goat. The cream of the crop from Cashmere. Infinitely softer and more exclusive than Cashmere wool. Once you have felt real pashmina, you will never be mistaken again with scarves or clothing that may bear the name pashmina, but are not.

The difference between Cashmere and Pashmina

The Pashmina goat (officially Changthang) is found only on the plateaus of Ladakh and Tibet, at over 4,000 meters in the Himalayas. The goats have an 'upper coat' and an 'undercoat'. Only the wool of the goat's undercoat is called pashmina. This coat is thick and soft. The outer coat is used for Cashmere products, among other things, but Cashmere can come from different types of goats. In addition to India, Cashmere can also come from large farms in Australia or China. Real pashmina, on the other hand, only comes from one region, from one kind of goat.

Do not shave but comb

The pashmina goats naturally lose their undercoat in the spring (the moulting period). It grows back in the winter. The undercoat of the pashmina goat is collected by combing the goat, not by shearing. This is done by the nomadic people the Changpa who inhabit the high plains.

Natural dyes

This Pashmina scarf is woven and dyed in the Dehradun region of India. Ghayur and Patricia live there. They have set up a social enterprise, Himalayan Weavers. They work with the local population in the many remote mountain villages. Women in the villages weave the Pashmina and color the scarves with natural resources from their environment. All Himalayan Weavers scarves are dyed with natural dyes.

Sappanwood and Lac

This scarf is dyed with Sappanwood (Biancaea sappan) and Lac (shellac). Sappanwood is a flowering tree that occurs naturally in Southeast Asia. The fruits, flowers and wood are used for many different applications. Due to the strong antibacterial effect and anti-clotting properties, parts of this tree have been used medicinally for centuries.

Lac is a resinous insect secretion. Dye is extracted from this, but lac is mainly known for its use as a sedative polish.