Cashmere on the Cheap

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Before it lands on your back, a cashmere sweater has completed an epic transformation. First, hair must be gathered during the molting season from the inner coat of special goats, the majority of which live in the coldest regions of China and Mongolia. Then the fiber has to be shipped to factories experienced in its production—the best are in Italy and Scotland—where it is spun into yarn, dyed and woven. The scarcity of the raw material has historically ensured a high price for the final product, sealing cashmere's reputation as a luxury fabric.

So what to make of the fact that affordable cashmere is now being hawked by a host of midpriced retailers? Needless to say, it's not because everyone within driving distance of a mall has suddenly gotten richer but because cashmere has suddenly gotten cheaper. In the U.S., shoppers can still find 100% cashmere sweaters at Saks Fifth Avenue for $300, but they are also available at chains like Banana Republic for $168 and Express for $68. Those who have paid more need not necessarily feel duped—there can be real differences in quality.

Over the past several years, China has ramped up its textile production and reduced prices. Many of its cashmere garments, however, are not made wholly of the downy undercoat of the goat, where the fibers are long and fine. Occasionally these fibers get mixed with hairs from the outer layer, which are short and thick. This means cheaper sweaters but also ones that are coarse and scratchy. They don't drape as sinuously or maintain their shape as well, and they don't provide the lifetime commitment most people seek from their cashmere. They may also be the product of goats with poor genes. Fred Xiaong, co-founder of Autumn Cashmere, whose buttery sweaters typically start at about $300, says the company uses only the hair from superior breeds found in Inner Mongolia.

There is also a more nefarious possibility: label fraud, something the industry's umbrella group, Cashmere & Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute, takes very seriously. Karl Spilhaus, the group's president, approaches the task of uncovering ersatz cashmere as soberly as an old-master specialist does in debunking fake Rembrandts. He has brought suit against stores for selling products labeled "100% cashmere" that he claims are in fact mere blends.

But just because a sweater is more affordable does not mean it's undesirable or fake. The only way to really know is by touch. If it doesn't feel like a million bucks, it's probably not worth buying for $60.