Why the 100% cashmere scarf is expensive?
The main reason that cashmere is so popular is the soft fiber. Cashmere can be processed into incredibly luxurious garments, scarves and accessories, and is durable, but it is also costly.
Cashmere does not come from sheep, but from the body of a goat. Goats can live normally in temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius, and inhabiting such cold conditions means they have an extraordinary coat. In fact, goats have 2 layers of hair, thick wool and super soft and warm cashmere. A goat can produce at least 3 kg of wool a year, but a goat can only produce about 200 grams of cashmere a year.
It is about 10 times softer and warmer than any wool! Besides these qualities, longer and thick fiber is stronger and is additionally easier for a craftsman to spin. regardless of how old do they get, the cashmere products don’t pill and don’t leave of shape, either. The natural color of cashmere fiber is brown, white and grey. The best-desired color is white that always doesn’t require any intense processing. If dyed, cashmere fiber can’t lose it’s soft and finest texture to some extent.
It is for this reason that the supply of cashmere is limited, so the price of real cashmere scarves is very expensive.
Why are brand cashmere scarves so expensive?
There is absolutely no doubt that branded goods carry the brand premium, which is the price a buyer is willing to pay over and above the price that a similar unbranded product. It is the cost of the prestige associated with saying "This is Burberry".
In my experience with clothing, the brand premium on the MSRP over the cost ranges from 300% to a whopping 5,000% of cost.
On accessories, these go even higher.
The difference is the material and the finish. A good brand would always carry a high quality product and would pay a small premium to the manufacturer so that the quality is up to the mark.
Cheaper cashmere products have become hugely popular recently. These claim to offer the quality of cashmere for a lower price, some may use a slightly lower grade of cashmere, or different processing methods to make the end result more affordable. And while they are comparatively cheap, they're still usually at least twice the price of wool.
There have been extreme cases of mislabeling too, and some supposedly 100% cashmere products have been found to contain yak hair or even rat fur. If you do find a really cheap product that claims to be cashmere, it may be too good to be true.
How much does the cashmere scarf cost for real cashmere?
It’s like buying a Painting or a Sketch that looks like a Painting.
So just to give you perspective the most cost-effective cashmere in the world is from Mangolia which goes at about $50 - $80 a Kg raw, after processing and manufacturing let’s say it comes to 100$ a Kg.
So a Scarf would be between 100–200 grams making the cost of Cashmere to be 10–20$ than the overheads the profit of the manufacturer. It would be about $30 before it moves out to the wholesaler.
Than the Wholesaler will keep 20% further Retailer will keep about 30% minimum ofcourse so the Price of the scarf chepeast you could find would be about $50.
Please Note - We are not considering the higher quality Cashmere Of Scottish, Australian or Indian Breeds that would average 150$-200$ a kg and thus the above estimate would go 3 times if not more.
Than lastly if we make the same scarf through Hand Weaving that’s what we do than atleast 8 Hours of Ann artisan labor is required to craft one piece which in India is about 15$-20$
So if you looking for 100% Cashmere Scarves.
The Poorest Quality Machine made - $50
Good Quality Machine made - $100–150
Handmade Good Quality Cashmere Scarf - $135–$250
How should you choose a cashmere scarf?
As a comparison, I'd say a $50 cashmere scarf (Cashmere scarf A) and a $109 cashmere scarf (sunxzz cashmere scarf). The differences.
1.) Cashmere scarf A won't last long and will likely pill and look awful. Whereas sunxzz cashmere scarf will last for decades and serve you well.
2.) Cashmere scarf A is made of very low quality cashmere (Afghan or Iranian 16.5-18 micron, short fibers) while sunxzz cashmere scarves use very fine cashmere [<15.5 micron Inner Mongolia cashmere or the rare <14 micron Pashmina cashmere].
3.) SUNXZZ cashmere scarf is likely to be better made, as quality brands usually ensure perfect finishing at these price points, unless they are hand-knitted.
Look for well-known brands. Beware of low-priced products that are labeled "pure cashmere or 100% cashmere.
