Beware of Fake Pashmina

Why are Pashminas rare?

Pashminas are made from the undercoat of the mountain goats like ‘Chyangra’, especially found in the Himalayas of Nepal, and Cashmere/ Changthangi goats found in the plateaus of the Himalayas. As the weather in the Himalayas is harsh and cold most of the season, Chyangras and mountain goats have very thick yet soft undercoats which act as a perfect and exquisite fabric material for Pashmina products.

As the upper coat of “Chyangras’ and mountain goats are very rigid and extremely rough, they can’t be any good for Pashminas, which leaves only the undercoat as the main material useful for production.

You can only expect about 145-150 grams of limited cashmere or undercoat wool from one goat, which means you need at least 3 goats to produce enough wool for one normal size sweater or shawls.

As you can tell already the process becomes very tedious and long which makes the product expensive.

Extraction of undercoat wools from 3-4 ‘Chyangras’ just for a single shawl is certainly one hell of a work. And of course, most of the Nepali Pashminas are hand knitted which is another hard work to be considered.

Another reason the Pashminas are extremely rare is the raw pieces of cashmere or ‘Chyangra wools’ are collected only in summer and spring, which makes the product even more limited.

The raw Pashmina/Cashmere wool has to be washed extremely carefully just to scrape any lesser-quality fibre which would eventually damage the quality of Pashmina.

This process alone takes days before the Yarn is ready for final production. Now that the Yarn is ready, the most popular and desired products of Pashminas are artistically and industriously knitted and weaved by hand.

The hours of hard labor, discipline, and precision is the reason pure and quality Pashminas are extremely hard to find or are somewhat expensive to afford.

Beware of Fake Pashminas

Now you know the efforts that go into making 100% pure Pashmina, what you should also know is having a duplicate copy of a genuine product is not news.

Likewise, there are also lots of fake Pashminas in the market that might trick you into buying it for the price of a pure one.

It’s no news that Pashminas are expensive and hard to find, so many customers might accept the fake one as the real one.

Countries like the US, UK, and Europe are becoming the victim of fake Pashminas at an alarming rate.

Don’t worry we got you covered! Here is how you can catch the fake Pashminas on your own.

Burn Test

This doesn’t mean you have to burn your whole shawl or sweaters, otherwise what would be the benefit?

What you can do during this test is take one thread of Pashmina Shawl or scarfs and burn it.

Now what you must know is pure Pashminas are made only from the hair of mountain goats that means the thread should also smell like that of hair.

See? There is no complicated science in it. Everyone can perform it easily.

Since the Pashminas are nothing but the hair, the burnt thread also should turn into powdery ash. Now check for the ash after some time, which should turn into a matte appearance

If it passes all the tests, then congrats you are the proud owner of Pure and rare Pashmina!

Rubbing Test

Now don’t get confused while performing this test. There is just a simple science involved in it.

This is a simple test that involves rubbing your pashmina products like shawls. Feels very doable right? No pressure at all.

Now simply rub your shawl against its own surface and wait for the result.

Saw some sparkling electricity with tiny little sparks?

Well, don’t get excited, because the Pashmina is fake!

How? Because fake Pashminas consists of polyester fabric which causes such sparks.

Don’t worry, it's simple science, you don’t need to dig deep into it.

Pure Pashminas rarely generate any sparks nor attract any tiny objects.

Shine Test

Until now, you should be clear that pure Pashmina only carries a matte appearance which simply indicates one thing, Pashminas don’t shine bright on their own and they have very little to no sheen in them.

Now, don’t get excited and think the shiny product is the pure one because in the case of Pashmina it is the exact opposite.

If your pashmina is shiny and glows brightly, you should know it is the fake one.

Pilling test

If you take the example of any other products, then no pilling means good quality. People rarely want any pilling on their clothes. But the case is the exact opposite for Pashminas. No pilling in Pashminas will probably mean fake products especially consisting synthetic.

Diameter Test

It’s always safe to have detailed knowledge about Pashminas and Cashmere before buying it.

Pashmina fibres are normally 12 to 16 microns whereas Cashmere can go up to 21 microns in diameter.

What we can take from it is that Pashminas are very fine and thinner products with a very soft and smooth textile.

The higher the micron, the fake the product will be.

However Diameter test alone might not be the best technique to determine the quality of Pashminas, However, it is always a wise idea to know about it.

Conclusion

Why S.K. Pashmina?

Nepal is one of the major exporter of Pashminas in the world, especially Chyangra Pashmina, the name and brand which is gaining a lot of trust and praise from all over the world for its quality and 100% refined wools of Chyangra (Himalayan goats with fine, soft, and downy undercoat). In the context of Nepal, Pashmina products have a really significant role as around 50% of the sale of handicraft products is made by pashmina.

Nepalese S.K. Pashminas products, be it shawls, stoles, or sweaters, are known to be made of pure 100% Cashmere/Chyangra wools which make the demand high in the international market.

Choosing S.K. Pashminas is always the right and wise choice for all of our international clients as we guarantee 100% pure Pashminas made from our own Himalayan ‘Chyangras’.

So, what are you waiting for?

S.K. Pashmina is just a click away.

Book our products now and stay stylish.