Beware of Counterfeit Cashmere
By Morris Dye
When a discerning shopper selects a fluffy cashmere pullover from a posh Madison Avenue boutique, the price tag is likely to run into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars. At its best, this downy fiber, combed by hand from the fine undercoat of the Kashmir goat, produces exceptionally light yet warm garments long prized for their elasticity and softness against the skin. But experts warn that a hefty price and the word "cashmere" on the label are not always a guarantee of quality and value.
"Cashmere is a very expensive fiber, and it's expensive because a very limited quantity is produced in the world," says Karl Spilhaus, president of the Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute, an international trade group based in Boston. "There's a temptation among unscrupulous processors in the manufacturing chain to substitute wool for cashmere, and you get a product that doesn't perform as well as real cashmere and is fraudulently labeled."
In the United States, federal law requires manufacturers and importers to label all garments with exact fiber content by percentage, but the only way to assure the accuracy of these labels is through scientific testing. While the Federal Trade Commission and other government bodies are charged with enforcing the rules, industry groups like the Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute play an important role in monitoring the actual fiber content of textile products in the retail marketplace.
"It varies from year to year depending on the market conditions for raw material," Spilhaus says, "but I would estimate there are some 20 percent of mislabeled goods out there."
Even with accurate labeling, however, not all cashmere is created equal. "Cashmere is essentially carded from the Kashmir goat, meaning combed out of the goat and then separated into the long fibers and the shorter fibers," explains Ingrid Johnson, a professor of textile development and marketing at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology: The shorter fibers may be included in products labeled 100 percent cashmere, but only the longest and finest fibers go into the most sought-after fabrics.
"Cashmere is not a word that guarantees quality," says Franca Foligatti, president of the North American marketing arm of Italian garment manufacturer Avon Celli. "When you want to have a pullover or cardigan that works with you as your second skin, you have to think it from the beginning, and the beginning is the yarn. So we develop close partnerships all along the chain of production, from the raw material to the distribution."
Founded in Milan in 1922, Avon Celli began exporting cashmere products to the United States in the 1950s, and their signature three-button polo made with ultra-fine cashmere yarn soon became popular with Hollywood icons such as Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant.
"One of the heritage items of Avon Celli is a light knit made with 36-gauge looms," Foligatti says. "They are old looms from the last century used to make silk stockings for women, so they have very fine needles, and you must have a very fine type of yarn. This cashmere has to be a very top selection of the longest and finest fibers. It's absolutely a dream to have on."
Avon Celli also has developed a 24-ply cashmere yarn used in luxuriously thick sweaters known to the American market as "macaroni sweaters." Made only by special order, these $2,200 indulgences are knitted by hand with no seams, and each sweater requires 24 hours of skilled labor to produce.
While pure cashmere is valued for its extraordinary warmth and loft, Foligatti emphasizes that different effects can be achieved by blending cashmere with other high-quality fibers. A sweater made of cotton and cashmere, for example, "is really enjoyable in warm places like California or Florida," she says. "You feel the warmth of the cashmere, but the cotton really cools it down." Cashmere-silk blends, which are generally lighter than pure cashmere, can be ideal for spring, she adds, and blending cashmere with wool or wool and silk is a good way to offer some of the luxurious qualities of cashmere at a more affordable price.
"Like all blending, it's all about having a perfect harmony between the elements you are working with."
Whether you're shopping for pure cashmere or a cashmere blend, Prof. Johnson emphasizes that the real test for good value is in your own hands. "You want to buy the best quality you possibly can considering the price point you're at, and one of the ways to know that it's better quality is to touch it, to feel it, to drape it, to wrinkle it? A better quality product will unfold naturally back into the way it was made and not show creases or wrinkles."
For cashmere suits, Prof. Johnson recommends tying a trouser leg into a knot. "Untie it and see how it lays back into place again. If it does it beautifully, it's a good product. If it's less desirable, you decide: Is it worth the money you're paying for it?
Avon Celli's New York showroom is at 689 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10022, tel. 212-702-0136. For more information, visit www.avoncelli.com.
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