Der Qualität auf den Zahn gefühlt

You should know this fact about expensive firm goods: if the goods are highly priced, fraudsters are around. Unfortunately, the case with pashmina shawls is no exception. During my trips to Nepal and India I was always offered shawls with labels stating “100% cashmere” or “70% cashmere”, while in fact these didn’t contain a single ounce of cashmere and were produced from artfully processed man-made fibers. Unfortunately, such brave fakes are increasingly present in Europe. As most serious estimates suggest an average two out of three pashminas bought in Germany have labels with misleading information.
 
Therefore at this point I have decided to tell you a little about different qualities and describe a simple method of testing the fabric.
 
Quality ControlAt first I examine the label on the pashmina shawl. If it states that the material is “100% pashmina” you may be about 90% sure that you’re holding a fake from man-made fiber. Despite rumors spread by tradesmen, in reality pashmina is not a sort of wool and therefore, under German laws, cannot bear a mark about the standard of a textile. To avoid difficulties during the customs examination inventive exporters or importers mark scarves as 100% pashmina thus preventing seizure at the customs they are threatened with in case of marking as 100% cashmere.
 
My second look is invariably at the fabric. Do you feel warm in this fabric? This concerns cashmere, but can also point to polyethylene or polyester. When the material feels cold to the touch you may be almost completely sure it is rayon.
 
After this “feel” test of the fabric, the so-called “burn” test may also yield striking results: draw a couple of threads from the pashmina fabric and set them on fire. If the fabric burns quickly and smells of burning paper you can be almost 100% sure that it is rayon. If bright large flames emerge you may think it to be man-made fiber such as polyester or polyethylene. One speaks of cashmere wool only when the fabric starts burning after a lot of effort and you can sense a sweetish smell of burning hair or fingernails.
 
Further information about methods of testing fabric (burn test, etc.) is available in specialized literature, for example in the 2nd volume of Alfons Huber’s book “Fabrics” about raw materials, fibers, threads and effects, German Industrial Publishing House, Frankfurt 2000 (52 Euro).
Boutique12, Tim B. Klein, Zeil 24, 60313 Frankfurt, Tel.: +49-69-26403459
tim.klein@boutique12.com
© Accessoire12 2006