While many believe that Pashmina shawls are banned, this is actually not true. It is shahtoosh shawls, which are obtained from the chiru goat (declared endangered under CITES), that are banned. Pashmina is cruelty-free and permitted to wear whenever one wishes
The regality of Kashmiri Pashmina Shawls dates back to the 14th century. It was when Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani traveled to Kashmir from Persia along with 700 skilled artisans. He made the then king start a factory to process and manufacture wraps and other wearables from this luxury fibre. Since then, the skill of Pashmina making and selling enjoyed purity and originality. But later when industrialization took over, a few vendors planned to deceive customers and sell wool or other adulterated fabrics by the name of Pashmina.
You are viewing: Why Are Pashmina Shawls Banned
Because innocent customers didn’t know the difference between original and fake, they fell for the fake promises made by vendors; they purchased fake Pashminas in place of original ones. The problem further enhanced when the actual artisans of Pashmina making started to suffer. For this reason, the team of Pashm, along with an experienced Kashmiri Pashmina vendor, endeavor to regain the lost glory of original Pashmina making. In addition to this, we set out to find why are Pashmina shawls banned, if banned at all.
Also read: Things to know before you buy a real Pashmina
How is Pashmina acquired?
Light, downy, and sensuous to touch, the word Pashmina in itself sounds luxurious. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, it is the 14000 feet high mountain range of Ladakh, where the Changthangi goat fights the severe winter season. It is a coat of Pashmina over its underbelly which protects it from the freezing weather. At the onset of summer, the goat rubs itself with shrubs, rocks, barbed wires, leaving this delicate and extremely fine treasure of fibre. Herders collect it and get it woven into majestic Pashmina shawls, wraps, or other regal ensembles or accessories who do it with the utmost skill.
How meticulous is the process of transforming the adulterated fibre of the Pashmina into a pure fabric. The collection from dangerous high altitude places, the cleaning, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finally designing it into the specified silhouette; all the steps toward making a Pashmina special requires huge skill and deftness. Such a special craft required special attention. And our quest to explore this wonderful craft gave surprising results. We went deep into the process of making a Pashmina with an artisan, who has been associated with this craft for more than 50 years now. Ghulam Nabi – a patron of the heritage Pashmina art whose sorrowful eyes narrate the tale of how his skill lost to fake and cheap copies of the original craft.
Our journey to Pashmina shawls
We took a trip through the narrow streets of the downtown area of Srinagar, the heart of the Kashmir valley. Finally, we reached a place where every traditional craft of the valley which includes Copperware, Paper Mache, silverware, and others had its own shops where the best-skilled artists worked. Amongst all of these matchbox-sized shops, Ghulam Nabi owned a larger shop; he sold his Pashmina shawls there but manufactured them at home.
We entered his shop and introduced ourselves, and asked him if he could give us some of his time. We wished he could narrate the legends of the original Kashmiri Pashmina and how he stepped into its making. But since the downtown area is filled with hustle and bustle of a typical marketplace, we got an invitation to his home the next day. We left his shop but our eyes couldn’t miss the masterpieces that they captured in this short period of time. In just a few minutes, we had perhaps witnessed all the colours and all the patterns that the valley is world-famous for, and that ever existed. And we knew one thing for sure, we had come to the right destination.
Also read: 500 years of timeless fashion – Pure Pashmina
The night before
Our team spent the night in a local hotel room, excited about what was going to happen the other day. The next day, early in the morning, we reached the place where Ghulam Nabi had invited us to. Remembering the treasured collections we had seen yesterday, all of us expected a large showroom. We imagined around at least a hundred people working with him. Instead, we were surprised to see a small, not-so-well-lit room and four women working on four different pieces, over a charkha.
Read more : Why Do Alligators Open Their Mouths
We all sat together, had a cup of tea, and then came to the main point of discussion. What is Pashmina, where it came from, how is it processed, and is there a compromise on the quality of Pashmina? At once Ghulam Nabi peeped out of the window, and his eyes seemed to be traveling in time. It seemed as if the 50 years he spent with this craft played right in front of him.
Word to Word with the artisan
“The craft is not at its best,” said Ghulam Nabi who started his discussion with a complaint. We asked why the craft had lost itself with time, and he couldn’t stop but narrate the ordeal of his work. “When we started making Pashmina, our motive was to show Kashmir to the world; introduce its different crafts to those areas which had never even known what Kashmir was. But now, sellers just care about money. They want to give less and take more”, said Ghulam Nabi in a tone that sounded angrier.
Gradually what we realized with his words was the same affliction that most of the crafts of Kashmir have been through. The craft of Pashmina was once at its zenith just because it was pure. But now, when people introduced cheaper copies of the same, adulterated with either wool or nylon, or dipped local woolen clothes in a fabric softener to give it a feel of Pashmina, the original craft started declining. Customers were cheated upon by local vendors by claiming their fabric to be made of Pashmina. And innocent customers, who never before had seen or touched Pashmina believed it to be true. With time, there was a rumour that Pashmina is banned, as it leads to animal cruelty. But Ghulam Nabi had a different opinion. PASHMINA WAS NEVER BANNED!
Ban on Shahtoosh
While there is a mass confusion with regards to ban on a type of shawl, there certainly are reasons why it is so. We know that Pashmina is not banned. Then isnt there another type of shawl that has been internationally banned on account of animal cruelty?
It is Shahtoosh. Shahtoosh is banned. It’s a tittle-tattle and is spread usually by the individuals who have vested interests in creating this confusion among the masses. Since Pashmina shawls are the best quality shawls , their low-quality produce get adversely affected due to more demand for the former.
Which shawls are banned?
It’s not completely a hoax that Kashmiri shawls are banned. But the category of shawls that is banned is Shahtoosh. Kashmiri wool has certain degrees according to their quality and finesse of the fibre they are made from. Shahtoosh is the top quality wool, obtained from Chiru goat. The fibre diameter is even less than that of Pashmina fibre. While Cashmere is 12-16 microns in diameter, Shahtoosh fibre is just 8 microns. This property leads it to be so fine that it can easily pass through a finger-ring. Many more differences between Pashmina and Shahtoosh are discussed below.
Why are Pashmina Shawls banned in India
There is no blanket ban on Pashmina shawls in India. Pashmina shawls are not banned in India; rather, they are a highly prized and culturally significant textile that has been produced and woven in the region of Kashmir for centuries.
However, there have been instances of counterfeit or mislabeled Pashmina products being sold in the market, which can deceive consumers and undermine the authenticity of genuine Pashmina. To address this issue and protect the reputation of authentic Pashmina, the Indian government and various regulatory bodies have taken measures to promote and regulate the production and labeling of Pashmina products with the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag.
Difference between Pashmina shawls and Shahtoosh shawls
Pashmina and Shatoosh, both are obtained from the hair of goats that live on high altitudes. But there are several commonalities between the two. Shahtoosh is obtained from an endangered species of goats called Chiru, or the Tibetan Antelope. The animal has been listed in the endangered animal list under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The fleece growing on the Tibetan Antelope is obtained by trapping it forcefully, killing it, and skinning the hair from its underbelly. Animal cruelty is the basic reason besides the decreasing number of Chiru goats, why Shahtoosh was banned. But unfortunately, Shahtoosh is still being marketed due to high demand from the west. The reason for this high demand is the finesse, lightweight, extreme warmth, and graceful look that Shahtoosh shawls lend to their wearer. A Shahtoosh shawl weighs less than half of a Pashmina shawl, and for this reason, it is too expensive.
Shahtoosh is considered to be one of the world’s finest wools and is considered the choice of the elite.
Why isn’t Pashmina banned?
Read more : Why Did Law And Order Organized Crime Kill Off Jamie
Pashmina too is one of the best quality shawls, just not as fine as Shahtoosh. It is produced from the fine raw Cashmere wool which grows on the underbelly of the Ladakhi Changthangi goat. The main reason why Pashmina is not banned is that the Changthangi goat is domesticated. Hence, herders do not need to kill it for wool. Pashmina goats are professionally dealt with in hot summer, and the wool of their body is gently combed off.
Also read: What is Pashmina?
Pashmina shawls are soft, light, and beautiful when embellished with embroidery. For this reason, these are more expensive than ordinary sheep wool shawls.
The prices of Shahtoosh and Pashmina too differ. While a Shahtoosh shawl may even cost some 15-20 thousand dollars, the highest range of Pashmina will be 10 thousand dollars (US)
As responsible citizens, we should consider the ban on shahtoosh as a serious one. We should never try to buy or trade shahtoosh, even if it is too alluring. If you still have a question about why are pashmina shawls banned, here is the answer to it – there is no ban on Pashmina, and we can have as many pieces of the same as we want.
Should we Buy Pashmina shawls?
As mentioned already in detail, Pashmina is not banned at all. And moreover, it is not even cruel. As many claims that the goat has to be killed in order to acquire its wool, the same is not true. It is this Changthangi goat on which the survival of its herders depends. So technically, if they kill their goat, they would be depriving themselves of their own livelihood, which would be foolish. When our team asked herders the same, they answered the same. The goats do not need to be killed for acquiring Cashmere wool.
Pashmina goat is a domestic animal and doesn’t need to be looked for or hunted to acquire wool. It is professionally dealt with, using specialized tools, and the hair is combed off gently.
It is this raw wool that is later handcrafted over handlooms and introduced in the market to be purchased by art admirers. The art of handcrafting Cashmere and transforming it into luxury shawls and scarves is called Pashmina. These Pashmina shawls are sustainably made without using machines in the process, which makes them more responsible than cruel. The Pashmina industry is centuries old, and the shawls have been crafted for hundreds of years using the same technique.
Shahtoosh Shawls and Cruelty to the Chiru Antelope
As responsible citizens, we should consider the ban on Shahtoosh a serious one. We should never try to buy or trade-in shahtoosh, even if it is too alluring. It is this shawl that is cruel, and involves the killing of Chiru goats, as the goat is a wild animal. On the other hand, there is no ban on Pashmina, and we can have as many pieces of the same as we want. When we are investing in a luxury Pashmina shawl, we must know that this is a responsible purchase, and no blood has been shed to cover our shoulders, as is the case with many varieties of wool.
Now we are ready to face the question if anyone asks “Why is Pashmina Banned”.
Explore Pashm’s collection of Pure Pashmina Shawls and Wraps here…
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
