Our Commitment to the Environment
Misty Cashmere in based in a village near Lewes in the heart of the Sussex Downs. We aim to create ethical garments made from natural fibres which were easy to wear in modern timeless styles. We examine all fabrics and yarns as well as accessories for their ecological impact and scrutinise all aspects of our supply chain and suppliers.
Plateau, Plains, Mountains and Rolling Hills
Our knitwear is spun in cashmere, cashmere and merino, yak yarn and wool - each being socially and responsibly produced. The cashmere used in our garments is from the Erdos Plateau, Inner Mongolia while the yak yarn comes from Tibet — both are spun in Inner Mongolia. The merino wool in most of our knitwear comes from Australia whilst our socks are made in Bradford, UK.
The hemp for our shirts comes from rural villages in Uttarakhand, India on the Nepalese, Tibetan boarder. The shirts are made in association with the Hemp Foundation.
Our socks are made in a traditional mill in Bradford where the yarn used has been tried and tested for durability and warmth. The yarn is a blend of various wools from Australia, South Africa, and South America. This unique combination of wools gives a yarn that is soft to the touch, but still strong enough to be used everyday in socks. Sock yarns have to be strong enough for constant rubbing, yet have fibres that don't make your feet itch; this is unlike fibres found in most breeds of sheep from the Northern Hemisphere which more suited for making carpets and durable wool coats or other items that aren't constantly in contact with the skin.
Organic Cashmere
The Good Cashmere Standard
Traceable Cashmere - Organic Cashmere
International Cooperation Committee on Animal Welfare (ICCAW) and Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA)
OEXO-TEX Standard 100
Our supplier, Mr Murun, is a traditional Mongolian whose family lives in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Every spring he goes back home for the cashmere harvest. Mr Murun has made a short film which follows his return home for the cashmere harvest and gives an insight into the lives of Mongolians today who lead a traditional life in this great landscape.
The film can be seen by clicking on this link: Mongolian Life in the Gobi Desert and Cashmere Fibre Harvesting
Sustainable Yak
Like the cashmere goats, yaks form a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the extreme winter cold. The yak is the main bovine in the Tibetan Plateau and is a heavily built animal with a bulky frame, sturdy legs and rounded cloven hooves, not to mention extremely dense, long fur that hangs down. Wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown in colour, while domestic yaks can be quite variable, being brown, grey, white or even piebald. Because the yak hair is such a beautiful natural colour we leave it undyed for our knitwear.
Yaks are free ranging; the herders follow them in a nomadic pattern between spring, summer, autumn and winter pastures. They help maintain the delicate ecosystem of the area as they graze on a variety of flora, fertilize the land with their manure and spread the seeds with their broad hooves. The yaks are not clipped but instead the hair is gathered naturally when they moult in the summer and retains its insulating properties when knitted into garments.
Environmental Hemp/Lyocell
Our shirts are made in a sustainable 40% hemp/ 60% Lyocell mix.
We have chosen to use hemp fabric because it is four times as strong as cotton, it is UV resistant, breathable and resists bacterial growth. The crop uses a fraction of the amount of water used for equal quantities of cotton production, it does not require insecticides or pesticides, it has a short growing cycle relative to cotton and helps enrich the soil on which it is grown.
All Natural Accessories
The buttons we use are either natural coconut, or corozo nut dyed in Wiltshire, UK to match the colours in our shirts. The corozo nuts are from Ecuador and in a small way help sustain the rain forests as the nuts fall to the ground naturally from the Tulula tree so there is no need for them to be cut down.
Our neck and care labels are now made from organic cotton.
Supply Chain Ethics
Our knitwear is supplied in recyclable bags. We use bio degradable bags to package our shirts and knitwear which are sent out in recycled cardboard boxes. All our hang tags and literature is printed on FSC paper.
At Misty Cashmere we have examined every aspect of our production and hope that we have provided the most sustainable way possible to produce fabulous garments with highest quality materials.