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Cashmere goats -PASHMNIA QUALITATIVE TESTS

Cashmere goats

2.PASHMNIA QUALITATIVE TESTS

By Ghulam Mohyuddin WANI

ghulamwani1949@gmail.com

Introduction

What is cashmere and its importance has been reviewed in the preceding volumes of these pages. The new urgency in preserving our Pashmnia or the cashmere or Kashmir Pashmnia has been felt by the growers as well as weavers.

The trade has been off the mark since the controversy of the antelopes being slaughters for the pashem - a much finer fibre .The pasham are obtained from the wild antelope Chiru. It is called shah tosh and has been documented by wild life trust of India in a befitting manner, needing no addition. However ,after the ban on this fibre world over the after effects have been felt by the poor artisan families of Kashmir whose plight has too been described by the wild life of India, under their document Beyond the ban.

I saw excellent specimens prepared by the Kashmir artisans who use the fine Pashmnia and not the Sahahtosh – the banned fibre. The difference between SHAHTOSH obtained from an antelope called CHIRU and cashmere or Pashmnia obtained from goats is in the fineness ,besides the colour and consistency. The diameter of the pashem or the shah tosh ranges between 5-8 microns. None of the present world goats produce the fibre of this diameter.

The only one as described by me if our earlier article is the Pashmnia or cashmere producing goats on either side of the line of control of India, Pakistan and China on the borders of Jammu and kashmir .what used to be called as -kashmir .

The diameter of the Pashmnia is between 10-15 microns in these goats of Kashmir. Nowhere else in the world do we find such fine fibre bearing goats. We have lot of best goats in the rest of the world starting from our near borders like Afganistan, Iran, Kazakisthan, Kiregistan etc but their Pashmnia fibre diameter is between 15-17 microns only. Here may we say the fine wool diameter is near 18-22 microns. The difference of even a micro makes a difference in the characteristics of this fibre.

May be there are some goats on either side of the borders between India, Pakistan China or even Afganistan.The main concentration of these fine Pashmnia fibre goats are located in changthong area of Kashmir.

The problem with weavers is that the mixing in the market has confused the system .The differentiation between pure Pashmnia shawl and one with admixture of silk or other fibres is questionable. This affects the trade of the true Pashmnia artisans and craftsmen.

To help these honest handlers it necessary to have some quality tests for the finer used.This review is aimed to answer these questions. I put it ON THE WEB FOR YOUR COMMENTS AS WE INTEND TO INITIATE A PILOT PROJECT ON THIS COMMODITY.

Pashmnia quality testing

For the quality control measures in the Pashmnia we are proposing the following tests.

·Fibber identification

Fibre content test

·Fibre diameter(projection/OFDA)

·Fibre length (by hand/comb/Almeter)

·Single fibre strength

·Moisture Content

COST OF THE ANALYSIS.

Normally the analysis of a sample will cost 400-700 dollars for the quality testing in the EU/USA ,china is cheaper @50 dollars / sample.

setting of a laboratory will need

COLOUR TESTING LAB

ECO TESTING LAB

FIBRE TESTING LAB

The cashmere testing laboratory should perform all necessary testing for all textiles forms , i.e. raw cashmere, semi processed and finished products, including but not limited to cashmere, camel hair, yak hair and sheep wool, for both knitted and woven textiles. Testing done at this laboratory should be performed in accordance with international standards, such as ISO, IWTO, or buyer’s standards for shipments destine to western countries such as Canada, USA, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, UK, as well as Far East countries like Japan, Australia and Korea, etc.

We have few thousand kgs of our Pashmnia only .The raw batches obtained from various areas are defined in our earlier report on economics and DNA mapping of these goats.

We need immediate standard formulations of our own or testing of about 1000 to 5ooo samples per year. This would mean out of 1-5 lack goats in ladakh even if 50,000 are fine Pashmnia bearing we may have maximum 5oo-5ooo flock owners from whom the fibre may be available, including the handlers and firms and seller buyer combinations. The cost can be out sourced initially and later after establishment of a regulatory and certification officer of the Govt of Jammu and Kashmir the analysis can made by them or if the chamber of commerce come to shield this establishment responsibility, the govt nominated officer shall only examine the performance.

This is necessary to protect and preserve our trade. All the manufacturers and exporters will have it certify their products through this mechanism and a judos system of certification in the trade shall become a reality. This shall clearly indicate the fines of the fibre used and the amount of the fibre used, all the garments sold out in the global market by the standard firms and states and countries like EU, USA and China have specified these quality parameters in the Pashmnia products. By default of an exception which is common in all the trades we should avoid to malign a particular grog or the artisan .I feel it is the duty of chamber of the commerce to have raised these issues,

I myself feel ashamed why after initial discussions on these topics in 1986 we left it to some who never cared for it. In 1986 we had a seminar of framing up these breeding policy agenda ‘I was then Head animal production ,We had a series of discussions on policy frame both at Shalimar,shuhama and leh during 1986-89.All the policy planners ,experts and scientists were called and proper proceeding prepared and published and distributed then, After the turmoil in 1989,a number of change in the Veterinary set at Skuast level by the then authorities along with a dark phase in the field operations perhaps were responsible for the neglect.

One of my friends in the wool technology field DR WALI even organised a British sponsored seminar on the issues at CSIR lab in Srinagar. Unfortunately the system of ignoring the talented has been the routine of our state .This may be s reason such reformative steps taken by us as back as 1986-88 could not bore fruits,

In the year 1989 we called the entire Dean an associate Deans of the veterinary colleges of USA and UK to Srinagar to hold a session of the annual meeting of the international veterinary symposium in Shalimar, fully sponsored by the world society. They even paid a cheque for the presentations which we donated to the university, the same could also not be used by the university along with another DFG grant donated and perhaps put in the foundation fund. For which no trace is left as this was for a GALL GELDERMANN, WANI fellowship to award to students standing first intending to work on goat reproduction...

Those funds could also used by the govt for the purpose of this establishment.

This may need roughly 50x5ooo i.e. 250,000 dollars only for the out sourcing of the testing. We can reduce the cost of testing by collaborating with various laboratories in India and Abroad to test initially the raw fibres only and a small proportion of the netted fabric. Thus the initial first phase cost may not be more than few may not be more than few thousand dollars. May not be more than few thousand dollars. The main features of the test are coarse fibre content,greese conent.firbre:hair ratio,colour,diameter,tensile strength,length.These can be tested anywhere in India too. But THE precise trade and export requirements have of testing, including colour fastness, pilling, tensile strength, care labelling evaluation, e to be pinpointed and we may need to test for these and other parameters like pH,water content ,constitution, before washing after washing . Stage 2:

To set up testing laboratory for cashmere, animal fibres, sheep wool.

Following Testing Items should be including:

·Fibre identification and fibber content test

·Fibre diameter(projection/OFDA)

·Fibre length (by hand/comb/Almeter)

·Single fibber strength

·Moisture Content

·Coarse fibber content

·Foreign matter content

·Grease content

Stage 3:

Stage 3 Testing Laboratory should be able to handle following textile testing items

·Fibre content

·Colour fastness (light/crocking/water/perspiration/washing/dry cleaning etc.)

·Dimensional stability (after washing/dry cleaning)

·Strength (tensile/bursting/seam properties/seam bursting strength)

·Yarn count/twist

·Fabric weight/Threads per unit Length

·Pilling resistance (pilling box/Martindale/Random)

·Abrasion resistance

·Flammability

Stage 4:

The world is searching for environmental friendly products; Eco-textiles have been in needed by European countries, mainly Germany and Sweden. Environmental friendly is a trendy product. To achieve such goal, following items should be tested:

·pH value

·Formaldehyde

·Extractable heavy-metals(Sib/As/Pb/Cd/Cr/Cr(_)/Co/Cu/Ni/Hg)

·Pesticides

·Chlorinated phenols(PCP/TeCP)

·Phthalates(DINP, DNOP, DEHP, DIDP, BBP, DBP/DEHP, BBP, DBP)

·Organic tin compounds(TBT/DBT)

·Other chemical residues(opp/arylamines)

About the Author

to the wild life trust of india ,the drs V MENON,dr R kuol AMD A MUKERJEE FOR THIER EXCELLENT IMPORMATIVE MEET ON 15TH OF JAN,2009

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