Lucr / Journal

14 October 2026

Sourcing Pashmina in Kashmir: From Changthangi to the Loom

Every pashmina shawl begins a long way from the loom: on a high, cold plateau where the goats that grow its fibre have lived for centuries. Understanding that journey is the surest way to understand what you are paying for.

The Changthangi goat of Ladakh

The fibre comes from the Changthangi goat, raised by nomadic herders on the Changthang plateau of Ladakh, at altitudes where winters are long and punishing. To survive, the goat grows an exceptionally fine undercoat beneath its coarser outer guard hair. That undercoat is pashmina. It is not a luxury the animal produces for us; it is insulation, and its softness is a direct product of the cold.

The fibre is gathered in spring, when the goats naturally begin to shed. Herders comb the undercoat by hand rather than shearing it. The yield from each animal is small, which is one reason genuine pashmina can never be produced at scale without compromising what makes it pashmina.

From raw fibre to something spinnable

Raw fibre arrives mixed with guard hair, dust and grease. Before anything can be spun, it must be cleaned and dehaired, and much of this is still done by hand, strand by strand. It is slow, patient work, and the quality of this stage shapes everything after it: a poorly dehaired fibre produces a rougher, less even yarn, however skilled the weaver.

This is also the stage where provenance is easiest to lose. Fibre can be blended, substituted or passed along through many hands. A house that cares about origin has to build relationships along this chain rather than simply buying yarn from whoever is cheapest.

The spinners of Srinagar

In and around Srinagar, the cleaned fibre is spun by hand on a traditional spinning wheel. The yarn is extraordinarily fine and fragile, and spinning it takes a steady rhythm and a practised touch. Much of this work has historically been done by women at home, fitted around the rest of the day, and it remains one of the quieter foundations of the whole craft.

Hand-spun yarn is slightly irregular, in the best sense. Tiny variations in thickness give a handwoven shawl its soft, living surface, which a machine-spun thread rarely reproduces.

The weavers

The yarn then passes to weavers working on wooden handlooms. A plain weave is already demanding; a twill, or the patterned kani technique, is far more so. Because the yarn is so fine, it breaks easily, and the loom must be worked slowly and with care. After weaving, a shawl is typically washed and finished by hand, and some pieces go on to embroiderers for sozni or other needlework, adding further weeks to the making.

You can read more about these skills on our craft pages, and about the people behind them in The Makers.

What the GI mark protects

Kashmir pashmina holds a Geographical Indication (GI), a form of legal protection that ties the name to a place and to a method. In practice, it exists to separate handmade Kashmir pashmina from lookalikes made elsewhere, or by machine, or from blended fibre sold under the same word. A GI-backed piece should come with documentation you can ask to see.

It is worth being clear about what a GI does and does not do. It supports provenance and helps guard the reputation of a craft. It is not a guarantee that any particular piece is to your taste, and it is not a substitute for buying from a house that can answer your questions about where its fibre and cloth came from.

Why short supply chains matter

Each step above is a place where quality, ethics or authenticity can slip. A shorter, more transparent chain makes it easier to know who spun, who wove, and how they were treated. It also tends to mean fairer returns for the people doing the work, which matters in a craft that has often undervalued its artisans.

At Lucr we work with a small circle of ateliers in Kashmir, and we would rather have fewer pieces we can account for than many we cannot. If you are a designer or brand interested in sourcing at that standard, see our wholesale and private-label service or the trade pages.