The Cashmere Conundrum

Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread.

• SOURCES:
  • Myagmarjav Serjkhuu, manager of the Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform for the United Nations Development Programme.
  • Carolyn Yim, designer and owner of Ply-Knits.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Sandstorms and Desertification in Mongolia, an Example of Future Climate Events: A Review," by Jie Han, Han Dai, and Zhaolin Gu (Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2021).
  • "How Sustainable Cashmere Is Reversing Land Degradation in Mongolia," by Mariana Simões (United Nations Development Programme, 2021).
  • "Exploding Demand for Cashmere Wool Is Ruining Mongolia's Grasslands," by Kathleen McLaughlin (Science, 2019).
  • "From H&M to Gucci, Fashion Rethinks Cashmere, Citing Environmental Harm," by Matthew Dalton (The Wall Street Journal, 2019).
  • "2018 Annual Cashmere Market Report," by Marco Spina (The Schneider Group, 2019).
  • "How This Brand Made a Cashmere Sweater for $75 Ethically," by Esha Chhabra (Forbes, 2018).
  • "Pastoral Nomadism in the Forest-Steppe of the Mongolian Altai Under a Changing Economy and a Warming Climate," by D. Lkhagvadorj, M. Hauck, Ch. Dulamsuren, and J. Tsogtbaatar (Journal of Arid Environments, 2013).