About
Asneh is above all a story of love for cashmere.

How it all started:

Asneh is a Danish company operating from the Netherlands, and as with all good things in life, it all started with love. Love of cashmere. We love cashmere so much that we want to share it all with you. Our aim is to bring to you the best of the cashmere world; the most interesting designs and the finest qualities. We love natural fibres, so apart from cashmere you will also be able to buy some wool and silk products from us - but we promise; no man made fibres.

Our business model is simple, open and transparent. By selling our own products directly to you, we have cut out the middle man and can therefore offer you excellent price - quality deals. We believe that our prices should mirror the value of our products, and you will therefore find a big variety in products and prices. Think of natural fibres as precious metals; they have a certain basic value and are all wonderful in their own way, but you would never expect to pay the same price for silver as for high carat gold. Cashmere comes in different grades and  that is reflected in our prices; the most expensive products are of such a high quality and fine fibres that every single step of the process is done by hand. On average it takes 3 months to produce a single hand embroidered pashmina, and they are therefore very valuable.

About Cashmere

Cashmere is the fine wool of a special type of  goats (Capra hircus laniger)  that live in extreme climates where the temperature can dip below 45 C. To survive in this harsh climate these goats have developed a double fleece: a very thin and highly insulating undercoat on the neck and underbelly (this is the high quality cashmere) and a protecting outer coating of coarser hair that is called guard hair. To be classified as cashmere the average diameter should not exceed 19 microns (in comparison a human hair is 76 micron) . 

Most people are aware that cashmere is very warm, about 8 times warmer than normal wool, but did you know that it is also comfortable to wear in warmer weather? Due to cashmere’s high moisture content its insulating properties change with the amount of humidity in the air and therefore it is good for wear when it is warmer. Furthermore cashmere is virtually non-allergenic (because it is almost lanolin- and grease-free -0.5%)  and it is  anti-bacterial. This means that not only is cashmere suitable for quality conscious adults, but also an excellent choice of material for baby clothing and accessories such as blankets.

Pashmina – the king of cashmere

The finest cashmere is what some call pashmina cashmere (pashmina is not a protected name, hence the cheap viscose pashmina that you see in many places) these hair have a diameter between 11 and 14 micron and are produced by goats living in the mountains at an altitude above 14,000 feet. To produce enough wool for one pashmina takes 3-4 goats, as one mountain goat only produces around 90 grams of cashmere a year. The pashmina shawls and stoles are always 100 % handmade products because the wool is so fine that it cannot be woven on machines. First the wool is gathered by hand or combed of the goat to get the longest fibre, then they are hand-spun, hand-woven and sometimes, of course, embroidered which is done by hand also. On average it takes 3 months to make an embroidered pashmina. If you are looking for the softest option, you should always choose a natural colour (white, beige and brown) as the fibres are softest when they have not been coloured.