Have you wondered whether your scarf is genuine cashmere? Have you bought a surprisingly cheap cashmere scarf? If it sounds too good to be true, it is probably fake. Find out what to look for when buying cashmere, and read about how you can test your pashmina scarf or shawl if you have bought it and are in doubt about whether it is genuine.
Cashmere
Cashmere, which has long been in high demand, has gradually been introduced to the broad public. As a result of the high demand for the rare, soft fibre, prices have risen and fake cashmere products have become very widespread.
Cashmere wool comes from goats bred, among other places, on the Inner Mongolian Plateau. On the plateau, which averages 1,000 m in height, the winters are very harsh, which makes the goats develop the fine and highly insulating wool. In reality there is no special breed called the "cashmere goat". All goats can produce cashmere wool if it is cold enough. It is only in the very cold winters that the goats develop the fine undercoat we all value so highly.
The name cashmere comes from the Indian region of Kashmir, where the first cashmere garments were woven. Another well-known word for cashmere is pashmina. It comes from the Persian word for "wool". As such it is used for several types of woollen fabric, and not only cashmere textiles.
Pashmina
The term "pashmina" is used in India and Nepal, but it is the same as cashmere. It is, however, our experience that scarves and shawls with a label saying 100% pashmina are often not cashmere, but a blend of wool, cotton, silk or synthetic materials. When shopping online it can obviously be difficult to assess the quality of the material, which is why it is important to shop somewhere you trust and where there is a right of return.
Read more about cashmere and pashmina in our pashmina guide.
Things to look out for
The price can tell you whether the pashmina is fake. Cashmere raw material costs around $100 per kilo. It then has to be spun, woven and dyed, which is a costly process. If you are offered a new pashmina shawl for the equivalent of a few euros, you can therefore be sure that it is fake. It is not necessarily bad, but it pretends to be something it is not.
Cashmere has a matte colour. If your pashmina is shiny you should be suspicious. If the pashmina has been used it can develop some sheen, but then some pilling will appear at the same time. Pure cashmere always pills once it is put to use. If the pashmina is shiny and shows no sign of pilling, it may be a blend of wool and silk or viscose.
If the pashmina tends to accumulate static electricity, it is because there is acrylic or polyester in it.
If the pashmina's label is glued to the fabric, it is certainly not wool, as glue does not bond to wool.
How to test it yourself
If you suspect that your pashmina scarf is fake, you can try cutting off a fringe and setting fire to it with a lighter. Do it over a kitchen sink or on a non-flammable surface. Depending on how it burns and smells, you can get an indication of what material it is.
If it smells of burnt plastic you can be sure it is made of synthetic material. If it does not burn well and smells of burnt hair, it is a wool of some kind, and could well be cashmere. We have put together a selection of natural and artificial fibres, each with their own characteristics when burnt.
Natural fibres
- Cotton: Flammable, does not melt and smells like burnt paper or wood. The ash is fine and greyish.
- Silk: Flammable, does not melt, but shrinks from the heat. It smells like charred meat. The remains are black, bead-like lumps that can easily be crushed into a black powder.
- Wool: Flammable, does not melt. It shrinks from the heat. It has a strong smell of burnt hair. The remains are black, bead-like lumps that can easily be crushed into a black powder.
Artificial fibres
- Acetate: Smells like burnt paper and vinegar. The remains are hard, black beads.
- Acrylic: It smells slightly of fish when it burns and gives off a black smoke. The remains are hard, irregular beads.
- Nylon: The smell is reminiscent of celery. The remains are beige beads.
- Polyester: Has a sweetish chemical smell when burnt and gives off a black smoke. The remains are beige beads.
- Spandex: It burns and melts, but does not shrink from the heat. It smells chemical. The remains are a soft black ash.