If you wear cashmere, where do you get it from?

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I love cashmere jumpers in the winter, I have bought some from pure collection as I like the 'boyfriend' length.

Where do you your get cashmere that doesn't pill and isn't crop top length?

CuttedUpPear it's to do with over-breeding of the cashmere goats combined with massive over-grazing of land and it's turning parts of Mongolia into desert. Plus some cheap cashmere is sometimes 'cut' with other fibres, including rabbit fur. I read about it in Lucy Seagle's book 'To die for' and she references this article here from the Chicago Tribune: www.chicagotribune.com/chi-china-cashmere-htmlstory-htmlstory.html

I don't mean to be a killjoy. I am no tree hugger and I used to love cheap cashmere but it sounds like they are literally killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

This article lists some ethical sources, including Brora. These are out of my league, price wise but I've decided it's a luxury product for a good reason. I've heard that Pure are OK too: www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jan/16/does-cashmere-get-your-goat

Apologies if I've killed the thread

Thanks for the info Floisme, I feel it's good to know where our animal products come from.

I'd like a silk and cashmere jumper, can't find a decent one!

I have Boden, White Company and Pure too which all have a little pilling but my absolute favorite is from Hush - lovely quality and has washed well (so far)!

Is there a way of finding out if certain cashmere companies source ethically, other than contacting them?

floisome I'm just like you, either save and buy decent cashmere or go without, and there was a scandal in Italy recently some Chinese suppliers sell cheap cashmere mixed with rats fur, here

You buy cheap,you get cheap, simple as that, and cashmere and other textiles like cotton,linen,silk were never ever cheap,they are getting more expensive, because of increase in demand, and because big cashmere companies like brunello cucinelli and loro piana are buying all good suppliers to control the quality of their garments,and prices.

There are lots of very good Scottish mills that sell well made cashmere,merino wool knitwear, I'd rather pay a little bit more and buy from them than get a dodgy one from high street chain store or supermarket chain who all use dubious cashmere,

Johnsons and Brora mostly, M&S has been good in the past, Pure pils horribly in my experience I'm afraid so don't really look at it new although will sometimes succumb second hand. John Lewis I had a cardigan from that I didn't like much in the end but it was indistructable!!

Worth noting and considering that the environmental impact of our love of cashmere is fairly horrible so now that I know that I try and make sure that I'm buying where the company is taking measures to mitigate that.

I do struggle with this because I love buying new clothes and I regularly promise that I'm going to start shopping more ethically but never stick to it. But cashmere does seem like a good place to start because there's no way I actually need it and the cheap stuff can be really ropey anyway e.g. I have a Uniqlo cashmere jumper that's a mass of fuzz after only two years. So saving up for the good stuff, buying sales/vintage or just going without feels like the way way forward for me. And, if I waver, I'll remind myself about the rats' fur - thanks for the link, Santa!

I get mine from Brora in the sales/clearance. I also have one from John Lewis which is nice but nowhere near as good as the Brora.

I got a Izzy Lane cashmere jumper in the sale with 50% discount, from British goats. Quality is great and price wasn't outrageous at 60 pounds and made in Scotland.

Pure say that their cashmere is sustainable. Can't link from phone but think it's on their website. I've found the quality really good, though colours are quite variable by season. They've had nothing that's suited me for a while. Definitely worth waiting for sale prices/discount codes though.

I got a white company long cardi in the sale last year and it's lovely. Not sure how ethically they source though. I can't be bothered with hand washing, so always cold wash cashmere in a fabric bag in the machine.

TWC, Whistles BUT my fave wools are merino (TWC have introduced some merino pieces this week) and mohair (Brora's mohair jumpers are lovely...I have one from last autumn and it is so warm and not in the least bit itchy! Cashmere does pill, even the best cashmere, but is easily removed with a wool comb...

M&S and TKMaxx where I have had real bargains.

I have cashmere sweaters from Jigsaw and Whistles that are both lovely. I bought a Gharani Strok (?) one from TK Maxx today that feels beautiful but obviously I don't know how it will wear yet. TK Maxx had quite a dew cashmere sweaters in which were really lovely.