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Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
Australian Cashmere - attributes and processing
by B. A. McGregorAugust 2002
RIRDC Publication No 02/112 RIRDC Project No DAV-98A
Introduction
The Australian cashmere industry began in the 1970s, expanded during the 1980s with support from international processors. It has struggled during the 1990s following disruption in traditional markets.
There is a strong desire to process cashmere in Australia but knowledge of cashmere processing is limited and kept as a secret by international processors. The quality of Australian cashmere has been under threat by moves to change the international definition of cashmere that would put Australia at a serious marketing disadvantage.
Cashmere needs special processing. The raw fibre must be dehaired to separate the fine soft cashmere from coarse and worthless hair. Little was known about the dehairing performance of Australian cashmere. Following dehairing, cashmere has normally had short fibre lengths that have been suitable for only woollen spinning. The woollen spun yarns are bulky and have restricted uses as a result of potentially poor wear characteristics. Limited evidence suggested that Australian cashmere had the potential for processing on the worsted spinning system. This requires a different processing route that results in longer fibres for spinning into finer and stronger yarns more suitable for modern textiles. During the 1990s, five new textile firms were established to process Australian cashmere.
They have raised important questions about the costs of dehairing and spinning and the use of short cashmere by-products produced from these processes. The value of blending cashmere with other fibres and the suitability of different types of fine wool, available in Australia, for blending with cashmere, have also been common questions. A Review and Interpretation of Existing Research Results on Raw-Fibre-to-End-Product Properties and Performance of Goat Fibres was commissioned for RIRDC in 1991 and observed that there “is an urgent need for process development”.
Research Objectives and general approach
As there was little objective information to assist either the Australian cashmere industry or the new textile businesses, the following project was conceived and completed. The project objectives were:
1. To improve the utilisation of short fibre length cashmere in textiles by determining the effect of blend ratio in blends of cashmere with wool or cotton on yarn and knitted fabric quality.
2. To determine the effects of using superior handling wool in cashmere/wool blend yarns on the textile properties of yarns and fabrics.
3. To identify preferred nutritional management practices for cashmere and mohair goats to optimise the textile properties of raw fibre, yarn and fabrics.
The following general process outlined in the original submission was carried out: 1. a review of literature pertaining to cashmere quality, cashmere processing and other aspects of this project was conducted 2. a survey was conducted of the quality and attributes of processed cashmere fibre available for spinners 3. Australian cashmere was purchased, characterised and processed into top, blended with different Australian fine wool, spun and knitted 4. short fibre by-products from the cashmere processing were blended with cotton and processed into experimental yarns 5. extensive testing of the yarns and fabrics was completed 6. testing of cashmere and mohair fibre derived from various known sources and past experimental samples.
Survey of cashmere textiles available for spinners
Samples of commercial lots of dehaired cashmere (n = 117) and cashmere tops (n = 25) were obtained from manufacturers in Europe, Iran, China, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Samples of fibre classed as cashgora by cashmere marketing agencies in Australia, New Zealand and the USA were also taken.
The project has demonstrated that Australian cashmere has undoubted high quality fibre attributes.
Compared to other sources of commercial cashmere in the survey Australia produced the longest dehaired cashmere. The cashmere has medium fibre diameter that can be used to produce new textile products not commercially available elsewhere. When processed, this cashmere produced tops with fibre attributes that place them at the highest level of international cashmere textile products.
The project demonstrated that the curvature of cashmere fibre is different in each major producing region of the world. Australian cashmere has low fibre curvature and a correspondingly low resistance to compression. In wool, low resistance to compression leads to softer fabrics. Potentially Australia has the softest cashmere in the world. The project also demonstrated that cashmere and cashgora are different products and they can be differentiated on the basis of fibre attributes.
Worsted processing of Australian cashmere
Cashmere typical of Australian produced fibre was purchased and processed. Superfine Merino wool with greatly different raw fibre softness attributes was carefully selected, processed, blended with the cashmere and spun into worsted yarn. The yarns were knitted into different fabrics and subjected to intensive objective testing.
The project has characterised the processing performance of known cashmere. The performance and yields of different cashmere products during dehairing and combing has been documented for industry. Cashmere fabric made from the worsted spun yarn had different properties to that obtained from traditional superfine wool and from soft low crimp superfine wool. Blending cashmere with wool altered the textile properties of the wool fabrics. The evidence obtained suggests that if cashmere wool textiles are to be manufactured then the use of low crimp superfine wool will produce knitwear with more “cashmere like” properties than that obtained using traditional high crimp superfine wool.
Processing of short Australian cashmere by-products
Short dehaired Australian cashmere and the combing waste (noil) produced in the worsted processing of cashmere was blended with Australian cotton and spun using modern rotor spinning equipment.
The project demonstrated that it is possible to spin these blended yarns but difficulties were encountered when high cashmere content yarns were spun. Recommendations have been made on the commercial viability of rotor spinning short cashmere/cotton blend yarns.
Effect of management practices on cashmere and mohair properties
This work was restricted to a brief examination of previous research samples and other samples of known origin. These samples were measured for characteristics that may affect textile properties relevant to this project, namely fibre curvature, resistance to compression and staple fibre length.
The project demonstrated that nutrition did affect cashmere and mohair fibre curvature. Increasing cashmere production and increasing cashmere length were related to a reduction in cashmere fibre curvature. This is likely to explain some of the findings in the survey of the quality of international cashmere as the desire in Australia to produce longer cashmere is highly correlated with a decline in cashmere fibre curvature. This may have adverse consequences. For mohair the effects on fibre properties were regarded as not of commercial significance.
Conclusions
The results provide strong support for all the hypotheses examined.
Implications
The following implications of the project were identified:
1. The project has demonstrated the high fibre quality of Australian cashmere.
2. The project has helped provide a better definition of cashmere and cashgora.
3. The project has established the use of length testing for defining product quality of Australian cashmere.
4. The project began objective benchmarking of the quality attributes of processed Australian cashmere.
5. The project has assisted in the selling of dehaired Australian cashmere and the processing of Australian cashmere rather than offering raw cashmere for sale and export.
6. The project has provided clearer processing options for Australian cashmere and has assisted processors of Australian cashmere to become more commercial.
7. The project provided data on new product development of pure and blended cashmere.
8. The project demonstrated that the Australian Cashmere Marketing Corporation can deliver to objective specification of Australian cashmere and can deliver long fibre length cashmere suitable for worsted processing.
9. That nutritional management of cashmere goats can be manipulated to alter a number of attributes of relevance to textile performance.
Recommendations
On the basis of the findings of the project the following recommendations were made:
1. That the Australian Cashmere industry actively promotes the demonstrated quality attributes of Australian cashmere to enhance the sale value of their product and to encourage new producers.
2. That the Australian Cashmere industry actively participates in the international debate on the definitions of cashmere and cashgora to ensure that Australian cashmere is not devalued in the market.
3. That the Australian Cashmere industry focuses on improving cashmere length during production, in preparing cashmere for sale and during the processing of cashmere in Australia.
4. That the cashmere industry adopts Benchmarking practices to provide information on processed product quality.
5. That the Australian Cashmere industry reviews their classing practices in order to ensure the most cost-effective fibre classing, lot building and processing procedures.
6. That any processing trials to enhance worsted processing of cashmere in commercial works should focus on producing strong yarns suitable for commercial knitting.
7. New product development work should investigate the use of filament fibres and further develop products for short cashmere.
8. That the results of this project be extended to the cashmere industry and published.
9. That during the development
of any cashmere/wool blend textiles that the Australian Cashmere industry
work with the producers and processors of soft superfine wool in order
to commercalise new products that exploit the natural attributes of both
fibres.
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