Nature & Harmony: Nature lies at the heart of everything that our cashmere supplier does. After all, if we do not protect nature, then we will not be able to enjoy her many splendored gifts. As cashmere is the softest and warmest of nature’s gifts, our partners are committed to preserving and protecting the natural habitat of the Inner Mongolian grasslands where the world’s finest cashmere comes from.
In fact, it was the first company in China to be awarded The Good Cashmere Standard® by the AbTF.
It has always pioneered the protection of the Inner Mongolian grasslands, looking after both the farmers and their goats, setting the stage for a a solid partnership with the AbTF. Today, it is a major supplier of GCS products and all the cashmere that it provides, whether it is of the Good Cashmere Standard or not, comes from sustainable and ethical farms.
Animal welfare lies at the heart of The Good Cashmere Standard®, following the five freedoms as defined by the Farm Animal Welfare Council: no animal should be subjected to hunger, thirst, discomfort, pain or injury. Another central plank of the Good Cashmere Standard® is to protect the environment which the goats, farmers and farming communities live on.
For example, in the past the goats were left to roam free around the Inner Mongolian grasslands, pulling out the roots of the grass which they fed on. However, by pulling out the roots , the soil was left prone to erosion, resulting in giant sandstorms which blew down as far south as Hong Kong. Our partners therefore planted vast forests to restore soil quality.
Today, the goats are kept within special goat farms and are no longer left to roam across the entire grasslands. They are still free, but live within certain protected parks to protect both them and their surrounding habitat.
Green Credentials: In 2018, our partner became the first green factory approved in the textile industry. In the same year, it was awarded the STeP Level 3 certification to prove that their textile production process is both eco-friendly and sustainable. It has also been given the Oeko-tex Standard 100 and MADE IN GREEN by Oeko-Tex
Quality: The world’s finest cashmere comes from the cashmere goats living in the Inner Mongolian Alpas where the bitter winter cold helps them to grow a fine inner coat to keep them warm. And this raw cashmere needs the most sophisticated of treatments before it makes the softest of sweaters.
It all begins with sorting the de-haired cashmere to find the finest of hairs to spin into the softest of yarns. This technology was was once dominated by a few companies in Europe. But since its inception over 40 years ago, our partner has been fine tuning this technique through constantly innovating its approach.
According to the US Wool Products Labelling Act, the average thickness of cashmere is under 19 microns. But, our partner is even stricter and only accepts hairs below 16 microns with the finest of its hairs being below 14 microns in diameter and 36mm in length.
Did you know that there are over 120 complex processes involved before a cashmere jumper is knitted into a top quality sweater? Our partner has established and maintained a strict quality control system with fine inspection standards for every step of the way.
With the best equipment from all over the world, plus over 40 years of experience, our partner is able to make the world’s finest cashmere garments. In fact, it is the first Chinese company to become a member of the influential Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute (CCMI).
At Macnab Drummond, we firmly believe in making top-quality sustainable products which last so that can be passed down from generation to generation. After all, surely our children and the earth which they will inherit deserve only the best.
