Current State of Kashmir's Famous Pashmina Shawl Industry

Pashmina weaving is a craft, a handmade process without the interference of machines, processed only in Kashmir. Pashmina wool comes from naturally shedding the fleece of the Tibetan or changthangi goat. As the fiber diameter is very low, Pashmina has to be hand - processed and woven into products such as pashmina shawls, scarves, wraps, throws stoles, etc. However, the quality of a finished shawl is not solely dependent on the fiber diameter of the wool but also on the craftsmen's skills.

What is Real Pashmina?

Pashm represents the wool obtained from the inner hair of a specific goat called Capra Hircus. These goats are found all over the Himalayan range. So, cashmere is obtained from a wide range of subspecies of goats that live in Nepal, Tibet, and Kashmir. This wool is turned into Pashmina when it is carefully cleaned, combed and spun, prepared for use. The making of Pashmina includes many processes and all done by hand. 

So, essentially Pashmina is a fine type of cashmere wool. The name Cashmere was applied by European colonialists to a fabric that was known primarily as a product of Kashmir, the region in northwest India. Pashmina Shawls are very famous all over the world and are known for their fineness.

Current State of Pashmina Shawl Making

The factors which determine the quality of Pashmina are its fineness, its fiber length, and color. The raw Pashm is available in colors ranging from white, considered the most premium, to brown and grey. By the way, Kashmir tourism and handicrafts have been the backbone of the state's economy. 

The finished product is smooth, refined, and strengthened all this to produce durable shawls. On some occasions, it is also used to produce fine Kashmiri Ladies Suits. Once the raw material is acquired of all the process should be done manually by workers, right from spinning to weaving on handlooms. Once it is weaved than it is taken for dying, washing, embroidery and further designs.

However, this trend is changing as there is a lot of competition and the demand for the fabric is ever-growing all around the world. Thus, more and more people are changing to power looms as it is cheaper and its production capacity is more than that of a traditional handloom. Power looms can produce dozens of shawls per day while a handloom can barely produce two shawls per day.

On the other hand, we can say that these power looms have put a large number of people out of a job. We can also say that unfortunately, the craft of making pure Pashmina is vanishing due to power looms.

Concluding Remarks on the Industry

Pashmina weavers in Kashmir currently demand a ban on the use of power looms both due to job losses and the loss in the genuineness of the product. It takes the wool of three goats to make one shawl. 

The whole process takes days and a lot of patience needed to make a luxurious Pashmina shawl. The art and craft of making Pashmina are passed from one generation to next in Kashmir.

Pashmina is one of the richest handicrafts of India and also a major share of GDP to the state of Jammu and Kashmir where half a million artisans are employed directly. In short, we can say that the art of Pashmina is one of the royal craftsmanship and Kashmir is the main place where fine sozni embroidered shawls are being made. 

Not only that, we have recently even seen Kaftan tops created out of pashmina, but obviously, they are a lot costlier. Now with the latest trends in the industry, handicrafts are a wonderful beginning where everything from decor to saffron online is just a click away.