How pashmina and wool shawls are made
Pashmina is the fine undercoat of the Changthangi goat, combed out in spring. In the traditional Kashmiri process it is cleaned and spun by hand into very fine yarn, woven on a handloom, then washed, dyed and finished. Machine-spun pashmina yarn and power-loom weaving are now common, and many shawls sold as pashmina are blends with silk or fine wool.
Two decorated types carry their own GIs. Sozni is fine needle embroidery worked on a finished shawl, sometimes covering the whole surface. Kani shawls are woven, not embroidered: the pattern is built up with small wooden spools (kanis) of coloured yarn, following a coded pattern. Kashmir Pashmina, Kashmir Sozani Craft and Kani Shawl are all registered GIs on the IP India register. Srinagar and Anantnag are Towns of Export Excellence for handicrafts.
Wool shawls and stoles follow the same finishing steps with merino or other fine wool, and often with acrylic or viscose blends at lower prices.
What we check on shawls
| Check | How it is checked | What fails |
|---|---|---|
| Weight and size | Each sampled shawl weighed and measured, fringes excluded unless the spec says otherwise | Lighter or smaller than the approved sample |
| Hand feel and weave | Compared with the approved sample and a reference cut of the stated fibre | Harsher handle, coarser yarn, power-loom regularity where handloom was ordered |
| Weaving faults | Shawl held to daylight across its full width | Thin places, broken ends, missing picks, holes, slubs beyond the sample |
| Sozni embroidery | Design, density and colours against the sample; reverse checked | Sparser work, colour changes, loose thread ends, puckering |
| Kani weave | Pattern compared with the sample; colour joins checked on both faces | Pattern errors, open slits at colour joins, loose floats |
| Edges and fringes | Hand-rolled edges and fringe knots checked along the full length | Uneven fringe, knots slipping, edges fraying |
| Shade and dye | Shawls of one colour compared; wet white cloth rubbed on dark shades | Shade variation, dye on the cloth |
| Moth and stains | Folds checked for holes, larvae and marks | Moth holes, water marks, handling stains |
| Labels and tags | Fibre label, GI or certification tag and origin read against the order | "100% pashmina", missing percentages, tags that do not match the order |
Common pashmina, cashmere and wool shawl defects and how they are classed
| Defect | Typical cause | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Needle left in embroidery | Hand embroidery done outside the exporter's unit | Critical |
| Lab shows fibre not as labelled | Blend sold as pure cashmere, wool sold as cashmere | Major (Not cleared for that lot) |
| Moth hole | Unprotected storage | Major |
| Hole or broken ends in the body | Weaving or finishing damage | Major |
| Sozni density below sample | Different embroiderers, price pressure | Major or minor by extent |
| Uneven fringe | Fringe twisted by hand without a gauge | Minor |
High-value shawls are often inspected at 100% rather than by sample, because each piece is unique and one bad shawl is a large share of the order value.
Fibre claims, GI tags and shahtoosh
- Cashmere in the US. The Wool Act allows "cashmere" only for the dehaired undercoat of the cashmere goat with an average fibre diameter of no more than 19 microns, no more than 3% by weight over 30 microns, and a coefficient of variation of no more than 24%.
- Pashmina is not a fibre name. The FTC says a label cannot read "100% pashmina"; it must state cashmere, silk, wool or other fibres with percentages. A hang tag can explain the word.
- EU and UK. Cashmere is an Annex I name under Regulation 1007/2011, stated with percentages. See EU textile labelling.
- Shahtoosh. Wool of the Tibetan antelope, on CITES Appendix I since 1979; commercial international trade in its parts and derivatives is banned. It cannot be ruled out by eye.
- Certification. EPCH and the Wildlife Institute of India run a Pashmina Certification Centre in Dehradun, which examines hair samples under a microscope and issues certificates with a unique ID tag. A GI tag or certificate covers the pieces it names, so the inspector matches tags to the shawls in the order.
Fibre diameter and species identification are lab work. We pull and seal samples for an accredited lab through lab testing coordination.
Packing, transit and your purchase order
Fine shawls are folded in tissue and packed in individual boxes or cloth bags; plastic bags can trap moisture over a long voyage. The inspector checks that shawls are dry and clean, folds are not crushed by overfilled cartons, tags are attached without pins, and any moth deterrent is one the buyer allows.
- Fibre composition with percentages, and the label wording you will use.
- Hand-spun, handloom or machine-made, as you describe it to customers.
- Size, weight and fringe length, with tolerances.
- Embroidery or kani design approved on a sample, with density reference.
- Required certificates or GI tags, and which pieces they cover.
- Individual packing, tissue and carton quantity.
Cotton, viscose and silk scarves are covered under scarves and stoles.
Sources
- DGFT: Appendix 1B, Towns of Export Excellence (Srinagar and Anantnag, handicrafts)
- IP India GI registry: Kashmir Pashmina (application 46)
- IP India GI registry: Kashmir Sozani Craft (application 48)
- IP India GI registry: Kani Shawl (application 51)
- FTC: The cachet of cashmere, complying with the Wool Products Labeling Act
- FTC: Threading your way through the labeling requirements under the Textile and Wool Acts
- CITES Resolution Conf. 11.8: Conservation of and control of trade in the Tibetan antelope
- EPCH: Pashmina Certification Centre