Merino Lambswool

Cashmere

"Merino: The merino breed of sheep originated in Spain and the wool is noted for its fineness and whiteness. It was confined to Spain until the late 1700s when merino sheep were exported to, and bred in, many other countries. Well known types of merino are: Australian, Rambouillet, Vermount, South African, Saxony. The word merino is now almost synonymous with fine wool, the wool being finer 25 microns."

From Textile Terms and Definitions, Tenth Edition, Manchester 1995, p. 208

The merino fibre is the finest fibre in the world. It is renowned for its natural elasticity, lustre, resilience, density, strength, warmth and softness. Because of those features it is the perfect fibre for our ultrasoft merino products.

Independent research undertaken by the Hohenstein Institute to assess thermophysiological comfort properties found that people using synthetic fibre blankets experienced undesirably higher body temperatures and irregular heartbeats, resulting in less comfortable and restful sleep compared to woollen blankets.

Eco Fibre

The development of an eco-fibre blend combining merino fibre and possum fur has inspired the development of a new range of fabrics unique to New Zealand. Woolyarns were responsible for the initial development and refining of the process for producing the original blending of fine Merino fibre and soft, light Possum fibre which is unique to New Zealand, into a specialised yarn, which is amazingly soft light and warm. The Possum fibre is similar in form to Cashmere in that it has no scales and in addition it is hollow, which adds lightness and superior warmth compared to other natural fibres of a similar micron.

Cashmere is the fibre from the downy undercoat of the Asiatic goat (Carpa hircus laniger) with a mean diameter of 18.5 microns or less. The Cashmere goat who gave its name to Cashmere fibre, lived originally in Cashmere and the dry highland plateaus of North-China, Tibet and Mongolia, which border on the Gobi Desert. Around 1800 its fibre was discovered by Europeans in the Indian province Kashmir, and its excellent qualities became known.

The goats grow this fibre as a protection against the winter in much the same way as geese and ducks produce down. More than 3000 tones of Cashmere is produced worldwide every year, the majority coming from Mongolia, China and the Himalayan regions with smaller amounts from Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

The specialty animal hair fibres are collected during moulting season when the animals naturally shed their hairs.

Goats moult during spring. In China and Mongolia, the down is removed by hand with a coarse comb. The animals are shorn in Iran, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Australia.

The downy fibre is renowned for its silkiness, luxury and softness. It is extremely warm to protect goats from cold mountain temperatures. The fibres are highly adaptable and are easily constructed into fine or thick yarns, and light to heavy-weight fabrics. The fibre is appropriate for all climates and a high moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the atmosphere.

For its high-quality products Pelage uses only New Zealand Cashmere, which has fibres of 16 microns in diameter, making it softer and more desirable than similar fibres like Cashgora, another goat fibre, which has a fibre diameter of 21 microns.