How to put the luxury back into cashmere

Everyone’s selling cashmere, but much of it represents a downmarket plunge with consequences for the entire sector. 

To the untrained eye, a $50 cashmere sweater can look from afar much like a $500 sweater. And both products can technically be categorised as “responsible cashmere”, a designation with multiple standards and definitions.

“I am always worried when I see products being sold at prices that do not reflect their true cost,” says Anne Gillespie, director of impact acceleration at global nonprofit Textile Exchange. “Not only does it encourage thoughtless consumption, but it sets up a system that is in a race to the bottom. What we really need to see is pricing that reflects the full cost of producing a garment and bringing it to market including the externalities that are so often ignored. We cannot afford to continue this way.”

Title: How to put the luxury back into cashmere

Author: ESHA CHHABRA

Source: Vogue

Publication Date: March 4, 2021

URL: www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability