Editing Cashmere wool (section)

== Gathering ==
[[File:cashmeregoat shearing.png|thumb|right|Cashmere shearing. [[Corindhap, Victoria|Corindhap]], Australia.]]
Cashmere wool is collected during the spring [[moulting]] season when the goats naturally shed their winter coat. In the [[Northern Hemisphere]], the goats moult as early as March and as late as May.

In some regions, the mixed mass of down and coarse hair is removed by hand with a coarse comb that pulls tufts of fiber from the animal as the comb is raked through the fleece. The collected fiber then has a higher yield of pure cashmere after the fiber has been washed and dehaired than produced by shearing. The long, coarse guard hair is then typically clipped from the animal and is often used for brushes, [[interfacing]]s and other non-apparel uses. Animals in [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Australian Cashmere goat|Australia]] are typically [[shorn]] of their fleece, resulting in a higher coarse hair content and lower pure cashmere yield. In America, the most popular method is combing. The process takes up to two weeks, but with a trained eye for when the fiber is releasing, it is possible to comb the fibers out in about a week. The term "baby cashmere" is used for fibres harvested from younger goats, and has a reputation of being softer.