Mongolian Cashmere: Origin & Quality

Where our cashmere begins

Mongolian cashmere is prized for a rare balance of softness, warmth, lightness and natural character. For GOBI it begins at home — in the country, the culture and the source we know best.

A herder on horseback moving a mixed herd of goats and sheep across snow-covered pasture in winter

Climate

A country of extremes.

Across open pastureland, goats live through long cold winters, dry air, short warm summers, and sharp seasonal change.

Winter: −30°C
Summer: +30°C

To protect themselves through the cold, goats grow a fine undercoat beneath their outer hair. That undercoat becomes cashmere — naturally warm, light and soft before production begins.

It does not begin as a trend.

It begins as protection.

A herder in a blue deel walking among a large herd of cashmere goats inside a wooden pen at sunrise

The landscape in numbers

More goats than people.

Goats across Mongolia: 29M+
People in Mongolia: 3.6M
More goats than people: 8 TIMES

In Mongolia, goats outnumber people by about eight times. This is why cashmere is not just a luxury material here — it is part of the land, herding life, and national identity.

16.3 microns, before spinning.

Micron measures fibre fineness. The lower the micron, the finer the cashmere.

A white cashmere goat on autumn pasture wearing a rust-patterned GOBI cashmere scarf, the herd in the distance

Fineness

Finer cashmere begins before the factory.

Through the Sustainable Cashmere Trilateral Project, GOBI works with herder households, selected breeding bucks, and professional raw-material testing to support cashmere quality at the source.

Project analysis recorded an average fibre fineness of 16.3 microns in selected raw cashmere, together with a 3.4% improvement in fineness and reductions in dandruff, impurities, and coarse guard hair.

For the person wearing it, this means softness begins before spinning or knitting. It starts with better raw cashmere.

A herder combing the fine undercoat from a white cashmere goat with a hand comb in spring — Hand combing, spring

The spring comb

Following the natural rhythm.

Cashmere follows the animal's own rhythm.

In spring, as Mongolia's cold season passes, goats begin to shed the fine undercoat that carried them through winter. This is when cashmere is collected — by hand combing, a long-standing Mongolian practice that gently lifts the loosened undercoat as it is ready to release.

Unlike shearing, which cuts the fibre from the body, hand combing works with the natural shedding cycle. It separates the soft undercoat from the coarser outer hair more carefully, and leaves the animal more of its own protection.

The journey of a GOBI piece begins here: not with a sketch, but with the season, the herder's hand and the quiet rhythm of Mongolian pastoral life.

A Mongolian herder in a hat crouching on summer grassland with young black cashmere kids, the herd grazing behind

Herders

From herders to better fibre.

GOBI’s cashmere story is built with herders. Through the Sustainable Cashmere Trilateral Project, GOBI works to support raw material quality, livestock genealogy, and long-term value for herder communities.

Herder households: 106
Selected breeding bucks: 200
Raw cashmere from the project in 2025: 19.2t

About Our Trilateral Project

Workers in blue uniforms and caps hand-sorting raw cashmere fibre from a crate at GOBI's factory — Sorting raw cashmere by natural colour

From source to signature

The source becomes the signature.

Once collected, Mongolian cashmere is sorted by natural colour, quality and condition before it enters GOBI’s production system.

The softness felt in a finished piece begins much earlier: in the climate, the undercoat, the spring comb, the herder’s work and the careful selection of raw fibre.

It carries a place,

a season, and a standard.

Explore Our Trilateral Collection

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Mongolian cashmere considered one of the finest?

Mongolian cashmere comes from the fine undercoat of goats raised in Mongolia's extreme climate. That environment produces a fibre valued for its softness, warmth and lightness.

What does "micron" mean in cashmere?

Micron measures fibre fineness. A lower micron generally means a finer fibre, which contributes to a softer feel.

Why does Mongolia's climate matter for cashmere?

Cold winters, dry air and sharp seasonal change help Mongolian goats grow a fine protective undercoat. That undercoat becomes cashmere.

Is GOBI cashmere combed or sheared?

Cashmere is collected by hand combing in spring, working with the goat's natural shedding cycle rather than cutting the fibre from the body.

How is GOBI connected to Mongolian herders?

GOBI works with herder households through the Sustainable Cashmere Trilateral Project, focused on raw-material quality, herd improvement, livestock genealogy and long-term cashmere value.

What makes GOBI's Mongolian cashmere story different?

GOBI works at the source, combining Mongolian origin, herder partnerships, raw-material testing and full production knowledge from fibre to finished piece.