Saturday, May 30, 2009
From: http://showkeenmir.blogspot.com/2009/05/future-of-pashmina-trade-in-shambles.html
Future of Pashmina trade in shambles
Showkeen Mir
15-5-2009, Srinagar
The Pashmina shawl which was once the pride of Jammu and Kashmir and anyone visiting the valley across the world was buying the same with the enthusiasm and happiness. But the future of the persons associated with this profession is in dark because of availability of cheap duplicate Pashmina shawls in the local markets.
Pashmina shawls have been woven on handlooms from wool handspun from the disheveled coat of a goat, which lives in the heights of the Himalayas in the Ladakh region of Jammu And Kashmir State.
Hundreds of Pashmina weavers, however, have felt obligated to take to other professions. For, low-priced and machine-made shawls available around are affecting the original pieces' demand and particularly the duplicate items available here from Amritsar.
People in thousands are associated with this trade. Ladies spin the wool, the men weave the shawls and then there are other's who do embroidery on these shawls and the local hawkers sell these shawls. But these days we are facing problems due to the fakes from Amritsar. Due to this our business suffers very lot, said Abdul Rashid, a wholesaler dealing in Pashmina shawls in Srinagar.
Nearly 60,000 Pashmina shawls are still woven in Kashmir a year “Shahtoosh” wool derived from the hair of goats shawls made from this wool are considered the world's finest.
From last two years we had low business in the valley because neither govt nor any bank has come forward to make this trade very fruitfull for those who are associated with this since the years,said Noor Mohamad a shawl weaver from Budgam.
Though witnessing the fake penetration into Pashmina shawl trade, the government has decided to make GI mark compulsory for the Pashmina shawls. But the volume of work to be done is so much that the government has not been able to initiate this branding so far.This means from wherever the business is being generated, even from the imitations, it has to come back to Kashmir, to the craftsmen and to the traders.
Second thing is that traditionally the outside people who were doing business now they will have to pay for this. They can't do business just like this. Like by giving any fake name to their product said the officials associated with this trade.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Pashmina Gets First Int'l Trademark In Norway
Published in Republica
KATHMANDU, May 19
In the first major case of a Nepali product´s garnering international patent rights, Nepali pashmina manufacturers have managed to register pashmina as a trademark in Norway. Pashmina is a prime Nepali commodity that has carved out a niche market among posh consumers around the world.
The registration has established pashmina, a Nepali name for the finest fur extract of mountain goats, as a typical Nepali product and defined pashmina items as commodities that have well-defined material content and traits.
"It will straightaway help us double pashmina exports in 2010," Shankar Pandey, president of the Nepal Pashmina Manufacturers Association (NPMA) told myrepublica.com. Although not a big market, Norway is one of the key importers of the product in Europe.
The association had received the confirmation of the trademark´s registration from the Norwegian authorities a couple of weeks ago. The association is also hopeful of receiving a similar positive response from the Australian authorities in a month.
Nepali manufacturers had lodged their applications for an international trademark, in December 2008, citing its clear definition, in a dozen countries, including Norway, Australia, the United States, the EU, Canada, Japan, China and Switzerland, among others.
That step was taken in an attempt to gain an independent identity for and regain the lost glory of the country´s once third-largest export. The move was taken with an aim to identify pashmina as a commodity different from Cashmere, a brand name used by similar Indian and Chinese products.
“The registration has granted us an independent identity and specification for pashmina items, which was much needed to continue exports to Japan and Italy,” said Pandey. Those countries had announced the restricting of pashmina imports if Nepal failed to define the commodity by the end of 2009.
Madhu Babu Adhikari, officer of NPMA, said the registration would help manufacturers to retain those markets and also reclaim the market that Nepali pashmina had lost in the United States and Europe.
Nepali pashmina items gained sudden acclaim in the international market and carved out niche markets in late 1990s after fashion magazines associated the product with high-profile personalities, including the UK´s royalties. That exposure soon boosted pashmina´s exports to over Rs 7 billion in 2000 and expanded its market to as many as 75 countries.
However, the failure in maintaining its quality, coupled with the aggressive marketing of cashmere products as pashmina by India and China, soon started to displace Nepali exports, resulting in pashmina´s gradually declining exports, which stood at Rs 540 million in 2007/08.
Furthermore, because Indian and Chinese manufacturers were heavily blending viscose yarn, acrylic wool, soybean fiber and poly-yarn with their pashmina products and selling them as genuine pashmina products, that practice had also dented Nepali pashmina´s image.
Going by the definition registered now, a pashmina product must have at least 51 percent pashmina content for it to be tagged as a pashmina item. “This will safeguard pashmina exports from the competition provided by inferior quality pashmina," Adhikari stated.
KATHMANDU, May 19
In the first major case of a Nepali product´s garnering international patent rights, Nepali pashmina manufacturers have managed to register pashmina as a trademark in Norway. Pashmina is a prime Nepali commodity that has carved out a niche market among posh consumers around the world.
The registration has established pashmina, a Nepali name for the finest fur extract of mountain goats, as a typical Nepali product and defined pashmina items as commodities that have well-defined material content and traits.
"It will straightaway help us double pashmina exports in 2010," Shankar Pandey, president of the Nepal Pashmina Manufacturers Association (NPMA) told myrepublica.com. Although not a big market, Norway is one of the key importers of the product in Europe.
The association had received the confirmation of the trademark´s registration from the Norwegian authorities a couple of weeks ago. The association is also hopeful of receiving a similar positive response from the Australian authorities in a month.
Nepali manufacturers had lodged their applications for an international trademark, in December 2008, citing its clear definition, in a dozen countries, including Norway, Australia, the United States, the EU, Canada, Japan, China and Switzerland, among others.
That step was taken in an attempt to gain an independent identity for and regain the lost glory of the country´s once third-largest export. The move was taken with an aim to identify pashmina as a commodity different from Cashmere, a brand name used by similar Indian and Chinese products.
“The registration has granted us an independent identity and specification for pashmina items, which was much needed to continue exports to Japan and Italy,” said Pandey. Those countries had announced the restricting of pashmina imports if Nepal failed to define the commodity by the end of 2009.
Madhu Babu Adhikari, officer of NPMA, said the registration would help manufacturers to retain those markets and also reclaim the market that Nepali pashmina had lost in the United States and Europe.
Nepali pashmina items gained sudden acclaim in the international market and carved out niche markets in late 1990s after fashion magazines associated the product with high-profile personalities, including the UK´s royalties. That exposure soon boosted pashmina´s exports to over Rs 7 billion in 2000 and expanded its market to as many as 75 countries.
However, the failure in maintaining its quality, coupled with the aggressive marketing of cashmere products as pashmina by India and China, soon started to displace Nepali exports, resulting in pashmina´s gradually declining exports, which stood at Rs 540 million in 2007/08.
Furthermore, because Indian and Chinese manufacturers were heavily blending viscose yarn, acrylic wool, soybean fiber and poly-yarn with their pashmina products and selling them as genuine pashmina products, that practice had also dented Nepali pashmina´s image.
Going by the definition registered now, a pashmina product must have at least 51 percent pashmina content for it to be tagged as a pashmina item. “This will safeguard pashmina exports from the competition provided by inferior quality pashmina," Adhikari stated.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Pash Bash -- off-white and off-color
Janice Dickinson lashes out at a paparazzi with her off-white pash, when he called her a “distraction” as she was leaving Nobu restaurant in West Hollywood. Note: Rated R for off-color language and violence.
[Editor's note: experienced pash-bashers prefer beaded fringes. See www.sunrise-pashmina.com/beading.html]
Thursday, May 14, 2009
"The new fashion staple in town"
STAR STAPLE: Cameron, Saffron, Donna and Kate
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/53824
Daily Express
Thursday July 24,2008
By Claire Brayford
LAST YEAR, only a Sloane Ranger or a Kashmiri tribesman would have been seen dead in a pashmina.
But the silky soft wraps have become the surprise fashion hit of the summer, after being championed by some of the world's most beautiful women.
Leading the revival is France’s first lady, former supermodel Carla Bruni, who was photographed earlier this week looking stately in a mauve Christian Dior wrap.
Die-hard pashmina fan, and possible future Queen, Kate Middleton, was also snapped in one of the shawls last month. Hers was an angelic shade of buttermilk and she tossed it over her shoulders as she left London hotspot Whisky Mist.
Elsewhere, Hollywood stars like Cameron Diaz, Lauren Hutton, Liv Tyler and Julia Roberts, have also been cocooning themselves in the luxurious cover-up.
REGAL: Carla Bruni
Now the shawls, which were once shunned for their fusty image, are being embraced by even the most fickle of the fashion pack, with many leading designers featuring shawls in their spring/summer and autumn collections.
Mary Flack, press and advertising manager at London department store Fenwick says she has seen sales skyrocket.
“Sales are so high this summer we have had to buy more colours than ever," she admits," Cocowai is our hottest brand and we now stock it in 32 different shades.
"Women have watched the stars re-embrace them but it also remains the most simple and effective way to take the night time chill off your shoulders.”
The perfect pashmina should be feather-light, soft and warm, making it an irresistible staple for the unpredictable British weather.
Victoria Stapleton owner of Brora cashmere agrees.
"We've had a bonanza season on all our cashmere shawls," she said, "Especially with our beautiful stripe style which sold out almost immediately.”
The name pashmina comes from the Persian word pashm, or wool, and refers to the fine undercoat of a special breed of feral Changthang goat found high in the Himalayas. One goat produces less than 8oz of the exclusive fibre a year.
The cover-up can be traced back hundreds of years. Wall paintings from the 11th century, found in the Kashmiri region, clearly show people wearing beautifully embroidered shawls.
Even Emperor Napoleon gave one to his Empress, Josephine, who made them much sought-after in Europe and is said to have amassed more than 1,000. By the mid-19th century, French textile designers were frantically opening shops in the heart of Kashmir to be at the centre of production.
ACCESSORY-MUST: Jerry Hall
Pashminas as we know them today rose to prominence in the Nineties when designers like Giorgio Armani and Issey Miyake featured them on their catwalks. But their cachet soon plummeted when every bargain basement store and market stall began selling cheap man-made copies for next to nothing.
[Man-made??? What's that? Are some of them growing on trees?]
A spokesperson for one of its most exclusive creators, Hermes, says: “Ours start from £400 and we stock them in virtually every colour and pattern imaginable. It has always been a classic staple but now it is fast becoming a must-have piece for every stylish girl about town.”
[Forget Hermes! You can get the same quality or better at Sunrise Pashmina www.sunrise-pashmina.com. The only difference is that we spell color without the u. How much is that worth?]
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Jill Biden is Hooked on Pashmina?!
How did we miss this?
Jill Biden: A Study In Scarves (PHOTOS)
Huffington Post | August 25, 2008 02:37 PM
Let's take a moment to meet the woman whose husband, Joe Biden, couldn't help but call "drop dead gorgeous" in his speech on Saturday. She certainly is pretty, and her look has lightened up a lot in the last few years (a few blond highlights here, a few cheerful pastels there). But upon closer inspection, there seems to be one accessory that's become her signature style: the pashmina scarf.
Jill and scarf are nuzzled by Joe as he waits to be introduced at a rally in January. This conservative style falls a little flat. Perhaps Jill could take a cue from Ms. Pink Pashmina in the background.
Ok, now we're talking. Here's Jill looking a little sharper in a sky blue scarf worn with a fitted black jacket. (And while we're on the subject, may the Style section be so bold as to suggest a haircut for Joe? You're looking great, JB, but could maybe lose a little length off the back.)
Jill Biden: A Study In Scarves (PHOTOS)
Huffington Post | August 25, 2008 02:37 PM
Let's take a moment to meet the woman whose husband, Joe Biden, couldn't help but call "drop dead gorgeous" in his speech on Saturday. She certainly is pretty, and her look has lightened up a lot in the last few years (a few blond highlights here, a few cheerful pastels there). But upon closer inspection, there seems to be one accessory that's become her signature style: the pashmina scarf.
Jill and scarf are nuzzled by Joe as he waits to be introduced at a rally in January. This conservative style falls a little flat. Perhaps Jill could take a cue from Ms. Pink Pashmina in the background.
Ok, now we're talking. Here's Jill looking a little sharper in a sky blue scarf worn with a fitted black jacket. (And while we're on the subject, may the Style section be so bold as to suggest a haircut for Joe? You're looking great, JB, but could maybe lose a little length off the back.)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Restoring Nepal’s social fabric
Restoring Nepal’s social fabric
Published in Nepali Times, issue #284 (03 FEB 2006 - 09 FEB 2006)
Nepal’s pashmina industry is bouncing back with innovation and new markets
ALOK TUMBAHANGPHEY
Until about five years ago, Nepali pashmina was haute couture among the world’s rich and famous. Cashmere was out and people flaunted their pashminas, from Buckingham Palace to Beverly Hills.
In 1997 alone Nepal exported Rs 3 million worth of the fabric, and by 2000 the figure had risen to more than Rs 5.6 billion. The industry employed over 50,000 people and made up at least 82 percent of all handicraft exports from Nepal in 2000-2001 with manufacturers producing everything from scarves, shawls, blankets and mufflers to dressing gowns. It looked like Nepal finally had a global brand name to call its own.
Pashmina making began as a cottage industry, catering mainly to the local market. The few investors who saw its potential had to be patient before profits began to flow. And just as they started earning dividends, the industry realised it had one more lesson to learn—it’s not easy doing business in an era of globalisation.
When Nepal’s neighbours saw pashmina’s potential, they brought economies of scale and just copied the product. There was a glut in the market, prices went into freefall. The Chinese had cheaper labour, lower production costs, skilled manpower and most importantly, their own raw material, something that Nepal was actually importing from the northern neighbour.
The Indians for their part used the age-old vanishing trick—importing Nepali pashmina, tinkering with it and then exporting cheaper products with the Nepal label. Low-price Indian and Chinese pashmina items, even fakes, began circulating in international markets, striking at the heart of Nepal’s industry. Unfortunately this was exactly what makers here tried to copy. “Indians totally spoilt the market for us. They had variety, and embroidery skills, which we did not. Maintaining quality in the face of competition was tough,” explained Roshan Timilsina of Innoxa Pashmina, whose main markets were Italy, Japan and Korea.
By this time everyone in Nepal wanted a piece of the pashmina pie. A Rastra Bank study shows that the number of registered factories jumped from 25 in 1993 to 959 by 1999. The 70-30 formula (70 percent pashmina and 30 percent silk), which had worked fine till then succumbed to competition and woollen shawls and other items began to be passed off as pashmina.
With the markets tightening, the unregistered factories were the first to go but the long-term businessmen were wounded. Not only did exports nosedive, retail businesses that relied on tourist buyers also suffered. Shopkeepers like Bishnu Dhungel of Lovely Handicrafts in Basantapur today spend the day waiting for the odd tourist to appear. Days of no business are not uncommon. Timilsina closed his factory more than a year ago and now only calls his workers when there are large orders.
But after years of downturn, it looks like the industry is coming out of the slump. The government has promised reforms to help them, like a refund on VAT, duty drawback and bonded warehouses.
People like Pushpa Man Shrestha of Nepal Pashmina Industry, one of the main players in the business for more than two decades, are still hopeful. “The US and Europe still have a soft corner for Nepali pashmina,” he says. “It’s a question of survival. The Chinese and the Indians are too large for us to compete with so we have found ways to overcome the challenge.” Nepali pashmina-makes are now restricting themselves to shawls but have focused on niche markets of apparel and household items made from the fabric. The other pashmina items are: pillow cases, bedsheets and dressing gowns. Even men are wearing pashmina now in the form of mufflers, vests and sweaters.
The pashmina market is still a money-maker but the private sector alone cannot take on the giant neighbours. Securing a registered trademark for Nepali pashmina and encouraging the production of our own raw material, which is possible considering Nepalis in the north do raise sheep, could be steps to putting pashmina back on the shelves of the world’s boutiques.
Pashmina is made from the soft wool found under the coarse hair of the chyangra or mountain goat. In its raw form pashmina is softer than cotton and as a fabric it is warmer than wool and smoother than silk, thus making it one of the most desirable of fabrics. Pashmina has been used by highland communities like the Thakalis and Gurungs for daily wear since time immemorial. Only in the last two decades did the international fashion discover pashmina.
----------------------------------
Sunrise Pashmina is owned by Tsering Choekyap.
Contact: sunrisepashmina@gmail.com
Website: www.sunrise-pashmina.com
Published in Nepali Times, issue #284 (03 FEB 2006 - 09 FEB 2006)
Nepal’s pashmina industry is bouncing back with innovation and new markets
ALOK TUMBAHANGPHEY
Until about five years ago, Nepali pashmina was haute couture among the world’s rich and famous. Cashmere was out and people flaunted their pashminas, from Buckingham Palace to Beverly Hills.
In 1997 alone Nepal exported Rs 3 million worth of the fabric, and by 2000 the figure had risen to more than Rs 5.6 billion. The industry employed over 50,000 people and made up at least 82 percent of all handicraft exports from Nepal in 2000-2001 with manufacturers producing everything from scarves, shawls, blankets and mufflers to dressing gowns. It looked like Nepal finally had a global brand name to call its own.
Pashmina making began as a cottage industry, catering mainly to the local market. The few investors who saw its potential had to be patient before profits began to flow. And just as they started earning dividends, the industry realised it had one more lesson to learn—it’s not easy doing business in an era of globalisation.
When Nepal’s neighbours saw pashmina’s potential, they brought economies of scale and just copied the product. There was a glut in the market, prices went into freefall. The Chinese had cheaper labour, lower production costs, skilled manpower and most importantly, their own raw material, something that Nepal was actually importing from the northern neighbour.
The Indians for their part used the age-old vanishing trick—importing Nepali pashmina, tinkering with it and then exporting cheaper products with the Nepal label. Low-price Indian and Chinese pashmina items, even fakes, began circulating in international markets, striking at the heart of Nepal’s industry. Unfortunately this was exactly what makers here tried to copy. “Indians totally spoilt the market for us. They had variety, and embroidery skills, which we did not. Maintaining quality in the face of competition was tough,” explained Roshan Timilsina of Innoxa Pashmina, whose main markets were Italy, Japan and Korea.
By this time everyone in Nepal wanted a piece of the pashmina pie. A Rastra Bank study shows that the number of registered factories jumped from 25 in 1993 to 959 by 1999. The 70-30 formula (70 percent pashmina and 30 percent silk), which had worked fine till then succumbed to competition and woollen shawls and other items began to be passed off as pashmina.
With the markets tightening, the unregistered factories were the first to go but the long-term businessmen were wounded. Not only did exports nosedive, retail businesses that relied on tourist buyers also suffered. Shopkeepers like Bishnu Dhungel of Lovely Handicrafts in Basantapur today spend the day waiting for the odd tourist to appear. Days of no business are not uncommon. Timilsina closed his factory more than a year ago and now only calls his workers when there are large orders.
But after years of downturn, it looks like the industry is coming out of the slump. The government has promised reforms to help them, like a refund on VAT, duty drawback and bonded warehouses.
People like Pushpa Man Shrestha of Nepal Pashmina Industry, one of the main players in the business for more than two decades, are still hopeful. “The US and Europe still have a soft corner for Nepali pashmina,” he says. “It’s a question of survival. The Chinese and the Indians are too large for us to compete with so we have found ways to overcome the challenge.” Nepali pashmina-makes are now restricting themselves to shawls but have focused on niche markets of apparel and household items made from the fabric. The other pashmina items are: pillow cases, bedsheets and dressing gowns. Even men are wearing pashmina now in the form of mufflers, vests and sweaters.
The pashmina market is still a money-maker but the private sector alone cannot take on the giant neighbours. Securing a registered trademark for Nepali pashmina and encouraging the production of our own raw material, which is possible considering Nepalis in the north do raise sheep, could be steps to putting pashmina back on the shelves of the world’s boutiques.
Pashmina is made from the soft wool found under the coarse hair of the chyangra or mountain goat. In its raw form pashmina is softer than cotton and as a fabric it is warmer than wool and smoother than silk, thus making it one of the most desirable of fabrics. Pashmina has been used by highland communities like the Thakalis and Gurungs for daily wear since time immemorial. Only in the last two decades did the international fashion discover pashmina.
----------------------------------
Sunrise Pashmina is owned by Tsering Choekyap.
Contact: sunrisepashmina@gmail.com
Website: www.sunrise-pashmina.com
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Pashmina Exporters Feel Warm
From New Business Age, July 2008
Nepal exported Pashmina worth Rs. 1.4 billion till mid-May of this fiscal year recording a 40 percent growth over the figure of the entire last year, according to the industry sources.
This has increased the hope that the total export of Pashmina by the end of the current fiscal year (mid-July) will record a 50 percent growth as the export figure for the remaining two months is estimated to be over Rs. 100 million, said Durga Thapa, General Secretary of Nepal Pashmina Industry Association.
"With the ongoing peace process, the importers are getting confident of timely delivery of their orders. This is one of the reasons for increase in export of Pashmina," said Thapa.
According to him, the export product mix has also undergone some changes. In the past, the major export item used to be Pashmina shawls whereas this year the share of Pashmina sweaters in the total export has increased substantially, according to him. The demand for Nepali Pashmina sweaters is particularly high in Germany and England.
Meanwhile, also the quality of Nepali Pashmina has improved, he says .
Nepal exported Pashmina worth Rs. 1.4 billion till mid-May of this fiscal year recording a 40 percent growth over the figure of the entire last year, according to the industry sources.
This has increased the hope that the total export of Pashmina by the end of the current fiscal year (mid-July) will record a 50 percent growth as the export figure for the remaining two months is estimated to be over Rs. 100 million, said Durga Thapa, General Secretary of Nepal Pashmina Industry Association.
"With the ongoing peace process, the importers are getting confident of timely delivery of their orders. This is one of the reasons for increase in export of Pashmina," said Thapa.
According to him, the export product mix has also undergone some changes. In the past, the major export item used to be Pashmina shawls whereas this year the share of Pashmina sweaters in the total export has increased substantially, according to him. The demand for Nepali Pashmina sweaters is particularly high in Germany and England.
Meanwhile, also the quality of Nepali Pashmina has improved, he says .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)