KER Kering

By Matthew Dalton 

The mass production of cashmere, once solely a luxury good, is fueling ecological destruction that has fashion labels searching for new sources of the fiber -- or giving it up altogether.

Herds of cashmere goats, whose hair is used to produce the soft fabric, have grown sharply since the turn of the century in China and Mongolia, which supply 90% of the world's cashmere.

The once-scarce fiber has become cheap enough for mass-market labels, resulting in billions of dollars in sales, but with ecological consequences. Millions of goats are chewing through the vast grasslands, known as steppe, that straddle the Mongolian-Chinese border. Nearly 60% of Mongolian pasture land is degraded, the Mongolian government says, including large swathes that have turned into desert.

Those problems are pushing fashion labels to respond. Fast-fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz AB in March said it would phase cashmere out of its product lineup by 2020. Gucci parent Kering SA is backing a project to encourage Mongolian herders to graze their goats in ways that protect the steppe. Stella McCartney and Patagonia have sworn off cashmere produced directly from goats in favor of garments made using cashmere scraps left over from workshops.

"We hope that it will be possible to source cashmere more sustainably in the future, and we want to contribute to making the industry more transparent and responsible," H&M said.

As cashmere production has surged, its environmental footprint is attracting scrutiny from governments and environmental groups. The industry has been more sensitive to charges that supply chains harm the environment or encourage animal cruelty -- and more active in addressing problems. These moves are seen as attractive to younger shoppers who are more attuned to the issue.

H&M decided to stop using cashmere after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, told the company about an undercover investigation it conducted at slaughterhouses and facilities in Mongolia and China where hair is removed from the goats. The investigation alleged the goats were treated cruelly when their hair was collected and when they were killed for their meat.

"PETA has made us aware that there are animal-welfare issues in the production of cashmere," H&M said, "and we agree with them that they need to be addressed." In a video taken during PETA's investigation, braying cashmere goats are held down while metal combs are raked over their hair.

The complexity of the cashmere supply chain has made it difficult for brands to determine whether the cashmere they buy is coming from herders who adhere to environmental and animal-welfare standards. Plus, brands have limited visibility on supply chains that go through Inner Mongolia, which is part of China, because of restrictions on foreign companies doing business in the country.

Once hair is removed from the goats, it passes through many middlemen. From Mongolia, it is usually shipped across the border to processing facilities in China, where the fibers are often mixed with those from goats raised in China, the world's largest producer of cashmere. Then the fabric is either made into garments in China or shipped to Europe, where high-end brands such as Gucci and others use it.

Bigger goat herds have led to surging exports of cashmere fiber to Europe, and surging exports of finished cashmere garments -- such as sweaters, scarves and suits -- mainly from Italy, to the rest of the world. Italian cashmere garment exports rose to EUR305 million ($342.5 million) in 2018, from EUR171 million in 2008, representing about 4% of total Italian garment exports.

High-end brands in recent years have been working to establish a presence in Mongolia and China, encouraging herders to graze their animals in ecologically friendly ways.

"Unfortunately, the approaches are very strong on paper and very weak in fact," said Giovanni Schneider, chief executive of Schneider Group, which trades cashmere out of Mongolia.

Mr. Schneider, who is working with Kering, said the challenge is getting herders scattered across Mongolia's vast steppe to follow guidelines.

"It's very difficult to engage the herder and explain that growing sustainable cashmere is a good thing to do," he said. While herders have been receptive, "it's very hard to go against the tradition of nomadic life," he added.

Kering has been looking to buy cashmere in Mongolia from herders who follow good land-management practices. These include rotating goats off heavily grazed areas to allow grassland to renew itself. The company has been working with the Wildlife Conservation Society, NASA and Stanford University on its project.

Despite such programs, grassland destruction has advanced in recent years. Mongolian authorities say 23% of the nation's grazing land as of 2016 was either heavily or fully degraded, up from 13% in 2014. The number of grazing sites that will require at least 10 years to be replenished -- or may be irrecoverable -- rose by 5% from 2014 to 2016, the authorities said.

Ultimately, the authorities in both Mongolia and China need to convince herders to reduce the size of their herds, says Gabriella Spirli, a development official at the Swiss embassy in Mongolia, which has been working with the government to fight overgrazing.

"Instead of quantity improve the quality," Ms. Spirli said. "You don't need to have so many animals like you have now."

Write to Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 13, 2019 08:20 ET (12:20 GMT)

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