Analytical Essay

From Goat Skin to Human Body

“Who will explain that why those sweaters don’t meet quality requirements?” asked production manager during the weekly meeting. One said “The finishing technology messed up!” The other said “Because of dyeing problem…”, “The quality of raw material was not good”. Everyone was seeking to explain own reason. “So you mean that the goats ate the wrong grasses. The goats are responsible for quality of sweaters, aren’t they?” I, young new worker, was sitting a first time in the meeting and thinking “Why he said about goats?”

On the next day I started my internship to familiarise all processes of cashmere fiber production from the first step to the end. The first step was to obtain the knowledge about the raw material-cashmere. It combed from a goat and graded according to color and fineness. The original or natural color of cashmere has various shades of white, grey and brown. Then the raw cashmere goes through primary processing resulting in the highest quality cashmere.

At the same time I studied from the book that the cashmere wool is a fiber, usually simply known as cashmere. The finest and longest cashmere fiber comes from young cashmere goats. The word cashmere derives from an old spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere is characterized by its soft and highly adaptable fiber. It is noted as providing natural light-weight insulation without bulk.

Next step was dyeing natural cashmere and spin into cashmere yarns. Spun yarn is made by twisting or otherwise bonding staple fibers together to make a cohesive thread. Yarn quality defines garment quality.

Final step was knitting cashmere garments. Knitting is a method by which yarn may be turned into garments. Knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through them. A cashmere sweater is two or three times warmer than a wool jumper of similar weight. Each goat will only produce enough cashmere for half sweater per year, hence the rarity of this wool.

The end of my internship, I understood that why he told about goats’ responsibility. The process of cashmere products is complicated and requires high technology and detailed operations. Purely natural cashmere products have no harmful affects on human body while giving pleasure and comfort.