SME Times News Bureau | 02 Aug, 2019
Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child
Development, Zubin Irani said that the certification will help curb the
adulteration of Pashmina and also protect the interests of local artisans and
nomads who are the producers of Pashmina raw material.
It will also assure the purity of Pashmina for
customers, she added.
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published an
Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of Pashmina products
to certify its purity. The Standard is being released in Leh, on Friday.
In a message, Irani said that BIS certification
of Pashmina will go a long way in discouraging counterfeit or substandard
products presently mislabeled and sold as genuine Pashmina in the market.
Textiles Minister further said that it is a step
in the right direction and will ensure better prices for the goat herding
community in Ladakh as well as for the local handloom artisans producing
genuine Pashmina products, currently a disadvantaged lot due to rampant
marketing malpractices.
The nomadic Pashmina herders live in the hostile
and tough terrain of Changthang and are solely dependent on Pashmina for their
livelihood. At present, there are 2400 families rearing 2.5 lakh goats.
This initiative of hallmarking Pashmina will
protect the interests of these families, motivate the younger generation to
continue in this profession as well as encourage more families to take up this
occupation.
Ladakh produces 50 MT of the finest grade of
Pashmina in the world (12-15 microns) and this initiative will provide further
impetus towards value addition of Pashmina in Ladakh.
Ministry of Textiles is processing a proposal for
funding of Rs. 20 crore for a de-hairing plant for Leh which along with this
initiative will lead to progress in the Pashmina sector in Ladakh.
The Changthangi or Pashmina goat, is a special
breed of goat indigenous to the high altitude regions of Ladakh in Jammu and
Kashmir. They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, known as Pashmina once
woven.
The Textiles are handspun and were first woven in
Kashmir.
The Changthangi goat grows a thick, warn
undercoat which is the source of Kashmir Pashmina wool -- the world’s finest
cashmere measuring between 12-15 microns in fiber thickness.
These goats are generally domesticated and reared
by nomadic communities called the Changpa in the Changthang region of Greater
Ladakh. The Changthangi goats have revitalized the economy of Changthang, Leh
and Ladakh region.