106.51.111.213: spellings

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{{other uses|Pashmina (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Fine subset of cashmere wool}}
{{Multiple issues|section=|
{{more citations needed|date=April 2017}}
{{disputed|date=March 2018}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}[[File:Mandala Chandar, Kashmir 1840.jpg|thumb|The Mandala Chandar (c. 1840, detail) is an unusual Kashmiri [[Tantras (Hinduism)|tantric]] moon shawl (chandar) with a [[mandala]] to the centre from which radiates [[zoomorphic]] tendrils, filled with multi-coloured [[millefleur]]s on a pink ground.|300x300px]]'''Pashmina''' refers to a fine variant of spun [[cashmere wool|cashmere]], the animal-hair fibre forming the downy undercoat of the [[Changthangi]] goat.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/cashmere|title=Cashmere {{!}} animal fibre|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Skarratt|first=Ben|date=August 2018|title=From India to Europe: The Production of the Kashmir Shawl and the Spread of the Paisley Motif|url=https://globalcapitalism.history.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/globalcapitalism/documents/media/case_04_-_the_paisley_0.pdf|journal=Global History of Capitalism Project}}</ref> The word ''pashm'' means "wool" in Persian, but in [[Kashmir]], ''pashm'' referred to the raw unspun wool of domesticated [[Changthangi]] goats.<ref name=":1" /> In common parlance today, ''pashmina'' may refer either to the material or to the variant of the [[Kashmir shawl]] that is made from it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pashmina|title=Pashmina|website=Cambridge English Dictionary|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref> Both generic cashmere and pashmina come from the same goat, but generic cashmere ranges from 12 to 21 microns in diameter, whereas ''pashmina'' refers only to those fibres that range from 12 to 16 microns.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/lab/idnotes/shahtoosh-web.pdf|title=Identification Guidelines for Shahtoosh and Pashmina|date=2002|website=US Fish and Wildlife Service: National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, Ashland, Oregon|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327022949/https://www.fws.gov/lab/idnotes/shahtoosh-web.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2020|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Kashmir shawl}}
Samples of wool fibres discovered from corroded copper artifacts from [[Harappa]] dating back to the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus valley civilization]] are extremely fine and resemble Pashmina and [[Shahtoosh|Shatoosh]].<ref>[https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer2004%20IndusTextilesfinal.pdf Ancient Textiles of the Indus Valley Region By Jonathan Mark Kenoyer University of Wisconsin, Madison]</ref> The material gained prominence through its use in the Kashmir shawl. In Mughal times, this was used as an indicator of rank and nobility. In 1526, [[Babur]] (1483–1530) founded the [[Mughal Empire]] in India, and established the practice of giving ''khilat'' (or "robes of honor", typically made of expensive fabric) to members of their [[Durbar (court)|''durbar'']] to indicate high service, great achievement, or royal favor.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Skarratt|first=Ben|date=August 2018|title=From India to Europe: The Production of the Kashmir Shawl and the Spread of the Paisley Motif|url=https://globalcapitalism.history.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/globalcapitalism/documents/media/case_04_-_the_paisley_0.pdf|journal=Global History of Capitalism Project}}</ref> In his time, the Mughal ''khilat'' was a set of clothes, which could include a turban, long coat, gown, fitted jacket, sash, shawl, trousers, shirt, and scarf.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Maskiell|first=Michelle|date=Spring 2002|title=Consuming Kashmir: Shawls and Empires, 1500-2000|journal=Journal of World History|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press (on behalf of World History Association)|volume=13|issue=1|pages=27–65|doi=10.1353/jwh.2002.0019|jstor=20078943|s2cid=144868279}}</ref> One or all of these could be made of ''pashmina'' and embroidered in gold cloth.<ref name=":7" /> In 1568, Kashmir was conquered by Babur's grandson [[Akbar]].<ref name=":7" /> In Akbar's time, a pair of ''pashmina'' shawls were an expected part of ''khil'at'' ceremonies.<ref name=":7" /> From the 16th to the early 20th centuries, the [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]], [[Zand dynasty|Zand]], and [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] emperors of Iran also wore ''pashmina'' and gifted Kashmir shawls as ''khilat'' within their political and religious practices.<ref name=":7"/>

Pashmina blankets were also vital additions to a wealthy woman's dowry in India, Pakistan and Nepal.<ref>{{Cite document|title=Can Tourism Encourage Better Export Performance and Diversification in Nepal?|last1=Reis|first1=José|last2=Varela|first2=Gonzalo|date=October 2013|citeseerx = 10.1.1.689.7307}}</ref> In nineteenth-century English writing, despite the fact that shawls were worn by men, Kashmiri shawls became coded as women's luxuries. They acquired the status of heirlooms, worn by a girl on her marriage and coming-of-age,<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Irwin, John, 1917-1997.|title=The kashmir shawl.|date=1973|publisher=H.M. Stationery Off|isbn=0-11-290164-6|location=London|oclc=3241655}}</ref> and as heirlooms that women would inherit rather than purchase.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Daly, Suzanne.|title=The empire inside : Indian commodities in Victorian domestic novels|date=2011|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-07134-0|location=Ann Arbor|oclc=617509005}}</ref> Since English law restricted women's abilities to inherit land, the Kashmir shawl served as an item of high exchange value that a woman could carry.<ref name=":02"/> In France, the ''pashmina'' Kashmir shawl gained status as a fashion icon through [[Empress Joséphine|Empress Joséphine's]] enthusiastic use.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title=Joséphine and the arts of the Empire|date=2005|publisher=J.P. Getty Museum|others=DeLorme, Eleanor P., Chevallier, Bernard, 1943-, J. Paul Getty Museum.|isbn=0-89236-801-2|location=Los Angeles|pages=167|oclc=57432294}}</ref> These shawls suited the French well, providing the needed warmth, while adding visual interest to white French gowns through the traditional teardrop ''buta'' pattern and discreet floral motifs.<ref name=":10" /> The shawl became a symbol of French bourgeois status from the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]] (1815–48) through the [[Second French Empire]] (1852–70). As a class marker, it fulfilled 19th century French tastes because it looked rich, had extensive ornamentation, artistic qualities, and was made of expensive raw materials.<ref name=":7"/>

== Production ==
{{more citations needed section|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Kashmiri Man 2001.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Kashmiri people|Kashmiri]] man sells a pashmina [[shawl]] from Kashmir in a market in [[Delhi]], India.]]
Goats used for pashmina shed their winter coat every spring. One goat sheds approximately {{convert|80|–|170|g|oz|sigfig=1}} of the [[fibre]]. In the spring (the moulting season), the goats naturally shed their [[Down hair|undercoat]], which regrows in winter. This undercoat is collected by combing the goat, not by shearing, as in other fine wools. A traditional producer of pashmina wool in the [[Ladakh]] region of the [[Himalayas]] are a people known as the [[Changpa]]. These are a nomadic people and inhabit the Changthang plateau of [[Tibet]], which has a minimum altitude of {{convert|13,500|ft|m}} above sea level and a winter temperature which can drop to {{convert|−40|C}} The Changpa rear sheep in these harsh climates for meat, and pashmina goats for wool.<ref name="Jina1996">{{cite book|author=Prem Singh Jina|title=Ladakh: The Land and the People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kjhcZgDy-WMC&pg=PA258|access-date=5 August 2012|year=1996|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=978-81-7387-057-6|page=258}}</ref>

Raw pashmina is exported to Kashmir. All steps, from combing (removing impurities and guard hair, and aligning fibers) and spinning, to weaving and finishing, are traditionally carried out by hand by specialized craftsmen and women. The major center of pashmina fabric production is in the old district of the city of [[Srinagar]]. The approximate time put into producing a single traditional pashmina stole (70x200cm) is 180 hours.

China accounts for 70% of the world's cashmere production, Mongolia 20%, and the remaining 10% of production is in Afghanistan, Australia, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, the United States, the Central Asian republics and elsewhere. Only a small percentage of this production is the ultra-fine cashmere known as pashmina.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shakyawar|first1=D B|last2=Raja|first2=A S M|last3=Ajay|first3=Kumar|last4=Pareek|first4=P K|last5=Wani|first5=S A|title=Pashmina Fibre – Production, Characteristics and Utilization|url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/19255/1/IJFTR%2038(2)%20207-214.pdf|website=Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research|publisher=Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research|access-date=11 May 2015 |quote=Note this work uses the word pashmina to refer to cashmere in general.}}</ref>

==Products==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2009}}Pashmina accessories are known for their softness and warmth. They are available in a range of sizes, from "scarf" {{convert|12|x|60|in|m|abbr=on}} to "[[wrap (clothing)|wrap]]" or "[[Stole (shawl)|stole]]" {{convert|28|x|80|in|m|abbr=on}}[[File:Cashmere12.8micronJos&fine.jpg|thumb|Raw (left) and de-haired (right) Cashmere Pashmina wool|left]]

to full-sized shawl {{convert|36|x|80|in|m|abbr=on}} and in rare cases, "macho" {{convert|12|x|12|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Pure pashmina is a rather gauzy, open weave, as the fibre cannot tolerate high tension. The most popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% [[silk]] blend, but 50/50 is also common. The 70/30 is tightly woven, has an elegant sheen and drapes nicely, but is still quite soft and light-weight.

A craze for pashmina shawls, known as ''[[shahmina]]'' in Kashmir, in the mid-1990s resulted in high demand for the raw material, so demand exceeded supply. When these shawls rose into fashion prominence during the era, they were marketed dubiously. In the consumer markets, pashmina shawls have been redefined as a shawl/wrap with [[Cashmere wool|cashmere]] and cashmere/silk, notwithstanding the actual meaning of pashmina. Some shawls marketed as pashmina shawls contain (sheep) wool,<ref name="LuxFib">{{cite book|last=Franck|first=Robert R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M-om7HI3rwcC&pg=PA142|title=Silk, Mohair, Cashmere and Other Luxury Fibres|date=October 2001|publisher=Woodhead Publishing|isbn=1-85573-540-7|page=142|access-date=2008-07-08}}</ref> while other unscrupulous companies marketed artificial fabrics such as [[viscose]] and others as "pashmina" with deceptive marketing statements such as "authentic viscose pashmina".

The word "pashmina" is not a labelling term recognized by law in the United States, where it is considered another term for cashmere. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission:

<blockquote>Some manufacturers use the term pashmina to describe an ultra fine cashmere fiber; others use the term to describe a blend of cashmere and silk. The FTC encourages manufacturers and sellers of products described as pashmina to explain to consumers, on a hangtag, for example, what they mean by the term.<br/><br/>As with all other wool products, the fiber content of a shawl, scarf or other item marketed as pashmina must be accurately disclosed. For example, a blend of cashmere and silk might be labeled 50% Cashmere, 50% Silk or 70% Cashmere, 30% Silk, depending upon the actual cashmere and silk content. If the item contains only cashmere, it should be labeled 100% Pashmina or All Cashmere, by the Wool Act or regulations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus48-cachet-cashmere-complying-wwool-products-labeling-act |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409031155/http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus48-cachet-cashmere-complying-wwool-products-labeling-act |archive-date=9 April 2014 |title=Cachet of Cashmere: Complying with the Wool Products Labeling Act |publisher=Bureau of Consumer Protection, Trade Commission |access-date=11 May 2014}}</ref></blockquote>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{fabric}}
{{fibers}}

[[Category:Culture of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Economy of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Indian clothing]]
[[Category:Knitted fabrics]]
[[Category:Knitted garments]]
[[Category:Scarves]]
[[Category:Geographical indications in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Indian shawls and wraps]]

Pashmina (material) - Revision history

106.51.111.213: spellings