Cashmere and the Environment

Beijing has sandstorms each year as winter turns into spring, a problem that has been getting noticeably worse in recent years. Friends warned me about the phenomenon before I moved out here. The Clinton Foundation also has a Climate Initiative that is working actively in China in addition to our work on HIV/AIDS. My colleague there told me that in 2006, the sandstorms were so bad that each morning, you would wake up to a thick coating of sand over everything outside.

The answer to what was causing it surprised me - cashmere. Somehow the topic of cashmere and how its recent popularity as a luxury fabric is contributing to environmental degradation came up several times this past week. The demand for the product has led to the boom of the industry in Mongolia where farmers began to raise camels, sheep and goats with no concern to whether the land could support the burden of so many additional new animals. As the industry is unregulated and farmers are only in it for a quick buck, no one has been replanting the grasslands that are quickly being chewed up. As a result, Mongolian grasslands are slowly disappearing and converting to desert at an increasingly rapid pace. And as Spring winds blow, the sand gets carried from the Gobi desert all the way to Beijing, coating the city in a layer of powder. Meanwhile, the animals are starving and beginning to attack each other.

I've purchased some beautiful and amazingly soft Mongolian cashmere sweaters since arriving in Beijing. Now, I am reconsidering whether I will buy more cashmere, often referred to as "soft gold" here due to its value, in the future. Though I love it, it does make me feel guilty to be contributing to the problem. I guess we will see how it goes this Spring. Definitely not looking forward to the sandstorms, but I am already prepared with my silk scarf, which I acquired at the advice of friends (to cover and protect my face during the storms).