Pashmina cashmere shawl throw exporter wholesale

Pashmina manufacturer and bulk exporter of high quality Cashmere Shawls and Scarves, Cashmere Robes, throws and Women's accessories. We export and Wholesale distribute
Silk and Woollen Hand-knotted Oriental Rugs, rare hand-made Papier Mache products and handmade wall hangings of unparalleled quality. Contact us for beaded, embroidered, silk pashminas, blankets and robes.

Pashmina History

Pashmina is the name for the finest Cashmere. Kashmir pashmina is the most original and authentic cashmere. The queen of all wools originated in Kashmir hundreds of years ago. The art of Pashmina making in the Valley of Kashmir is believed to be as old as 3000 years B.C . In the past, only rich and elite had the privilege of enjoying luxurious fabric. It adorned the court of Caesar and was the pride of French queen, Marie Antoinette. Impressed with the unparalleled looks of Kashmir shawl, Emperor Napoleon presented it to Empress Josephine. Until mid-twentieth century, Kashmir's kings had the sole right to purchase all Pashmina from Tibet and other higher reaches of Hamalayas. This resulted in establishment of a flourishing cottage industry in Kashmir and has lead to the perfection of art of p ashmina making.

The making of Kashmir cashmere is labor intensive and on an average it takes nearly 200-250 hours of man's work to make a single pure plain pashmina shawl without embroidery.

Is Nepal Pashmina same as Kashmir Pashmina?

No definitely not! History of pashmina coming out of Nepal is less than a decade long. Nepal cashmere is the cheap variety of cashmere that is semi-mechanically made. The best and the most original p ashmina is produced in Kashmir. Kashmir pashminas are the softest and warmest of natural fabrics (after Shahtoosh) mankind has ever known. Shahtoosh, now banned, was also exclusively made in Kashmir.

So if you are looking for genuine pure cashmere, look for Kashmir Pashminas not those coming out of Nepal.

How is Pashmina made?

Origin of Pashmina dates back to ancient civilization . Earlier in olden days these shawls found favour with the royal families, emperors, rulers, kings etc. This precious fabric was known as the Royal Fibre. Now this royal luxury is being offered in wide variety of shawls, stoles, scarves, wraps and sweaters. These luxurious cashmere shawls are hand woven by traditional weavers whose families have been in the occupation since ages and they inherit this art from their ancestors, and tradition of this art continues from one generation to another generation.

Every summer, Himalayan farmers climb the mountains to comb the fine woolen undercoat from the underbelly of, himalayan mountain goat Chyangra, the Capra Hircus goat which is the source of Pashmina, lives at elevations of 14,500 feet (4,500 meters) and above, where temperatures rarely rise above minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 30 degrees centigrade) in winter. Not to be confused with the endangered Tibetan antelope, chiru that is killed to produce shatoosh shawls, some also call these Chyangra Goats as the Cashmere Goats. To survive the freezing environment at 14,000 feet altitude, it grows a unique, incredibly soft pashm, inner coat, six times finer than human hair. Because it is only 14-19 microns in diameter, it cannot be spun by machines, so the wool is hand-woven into cashmere products including shawls, scarves, wraps, throws, stoles etc. for export worldwide.

With the coming of summer, the Himalayan goats shed their warm winter coats. Their underbellies are covered with two different types of wool: the fine, soft cashmere and a coarser outer layer. The wool is gathered by local women, who comb it thoroughly to separate the from the thicker, less luxuriant wool. pashmina

Each fibre is about one sixth the width of a human hair, and one shawl requires about 24 ounces of wool, the annual output of about 4 goats. The wool is too delicate for mechanical looms, and must therefore be spun and woven by hand. The techniques for producing fine cashmere products have been handed down through the generations, and sometimes the women in a family have carried out the practice since the days of the Mogul Empire.No woman should be without a pashmina!