Cashmere goat
A domestic goat that grows a fine, soft undercoat beneath its coarser outer hair. The undercoat is harvested and processed into cashmere fiber.
Cashmere wool: A fine animal fiber made from the soft undercoat of cashmere goats and related cashmere-producing goats. The goat’s valuable undercoat becomes this textile fiber after harvesting and processing.
Cashmere production: The husbandry, harvesting, and processing of cashmere fiber from cashmere-producing goats. It links raising the goat to collecting and preparing its undercoat.
Domestication of the goat: The process by which humans brought wild goats into managed populations, beginning thousands of years ago in Southwest Asia. Cashmere goats belong to the domestic goat lineage shaped by human husbandry.
Mongolian cashmere industry: The sector that raises goats and produces cashmere fiber in Mongolia. Cashmere goats support a major source of income for Mongolian herding households.
Guard hair: The long, coarse outer hairs that protect an animal’s softer undercoat. Cashmere goats grow guard hairs over the fine down collected for fiber.
Dehairing: The separation of fine down fibers from coarser hairs in a raw fiber mixture. Raw goat fleece must be dehaired before its fine undercoat can become usable cashmere.
Capra hircus: The scientific name commonly used for the domestic goat. Cashmere goats are domestic goats, not a separate species.
Pastoralism: A livelihood based on raising and moving livestock to use pasture and other grazing resources. Cashmere goat keeping is practiced within pastoral systems across several regions.
Down hair: Short, fine, soft hairs that form an insulating undercoat in many mammals. This is the layer cashmere goats grow beneath their guard hairs.
Wool grading: The classification of animal fibers by properties such as fineness, length, color, and cleanliness. Grading assesses the quality of fiber harvested from cashmere goats.