Mongolia is one of the least industrialized countries in the world. Except for the mining sector, which contributes approximately 10% of GDP and almost half of exports despite the fact that it employs only about 35,000 people, the country of Gengis Kan hardly manufactures anything. But there is a notable exception: cashmere. Wool most prized by the textile industry has become the third largest export in the country - behind copper and gold - and one of the key elements for the preservation of nomadic life, practiced by a quarter of the population Mongolian
"Right now, it is much more profitable to raise goats to get cashmere than to milk them or sell them as meat," explains Hairathan Sernehan, a shepherd from the western province of Bayan-Ulgii who has a herd of 500 goats and sheep. "I can sell a kilo of cashmere for about 120,000 Tugrik (40 euros), while for a whole goat I will hardly be paid double that amount," he adds. In total, it is estimated that Mongolia is home to 66 million head of cattle - 22 times the human population - that make the country the first producer of animal fiber on the planet - 42% of the total. Some 27 million of these animals are goats, which have the capacity to produce a maximum of 9,400 tons of cashmere per year, around 40% of the world total.
"At first we didn't pay so much attention to cashmere because the prices paid were lower and getting it is laborious," explains Gandantuyar, a nomadic woman from the province of Uvs. “We sheared sheep and goats with scissors and then tried to separate the best wool by hand. But that greatly reduces the quality, so now we carefully comb the goats to conform to the standards demanded by the industry, and the truth is that the work compensates, ”he says. She and her husband take care of 300 goats - each one provides about 240 grams of cashmere a year - with which they get almost half of their annual income. "We have partnered with several pastors to negotiate higher prices with intermediaries and we have been able to buy solar panels and a television with what we have earned," he adds with a smile.
Five Year Plan
According to the annual report published by the Italian group Schneider, the cashmere industry employs about 100,000 people, of which 90% are women and 80% are under 35 years old. Aware of the high social value of this fiber, which contributes almost 20% of the income of the shepherds, in 2018 the Government launched a five-year plan to climb steps on the value scale and stop selling raw cashmere. The objective is that most of it is processed in Mongolia, and not in China, and that its preparation serves to start the process of internationalization of emerging local fashion brands.
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Financed with a fund of 500,000 million tugrik (170 million euros), the country seeks to promote a technological and design revolution, two vital elements to increase the quality of the processed product and the appeal to the global consumer. It is a capital that is already noticeable in the gigantic industrial complex that the Gobi group, the largest company in the sector, has built on the outskirts of the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Under the motto From goat to coat (from goat to coat), 2,200 employees shape socks, sweaters or coats inside.
The raw cashmere, like the one obtained by Sernehan and Gandantuyar combing their goats almost 2,000 kilometers, arrives in trucks and begins a laborious refining process. The first step is taken in a room with a strong cheese smell. A group of women separates mountains of wool according to the four colors in which it occurs naturally: beige, brown, white and gray. The first is the most abundant - 51% - and the last is very scarce - only 1% of the total - hence the gray is also the most coveted. "With dyes, we can obtain up to 1,400 different colors and adapt to the demands of different customers," reports Gobi Communication Manager Khajidsuren Otgonbayar.
From there, the fiber is cleaned, untracked, dyed, mixed, spun and woven before it can be sewn in a large room with more than 200 workers. “Before, most of the work was done manually, but a couple of years ago we opened the new facilities and have opted for the automation of many of the processes. This way we achieve greater uniformity in the quality of the fabrics ”, explains Otgonbayar while showing the different rooms through which, on both sides of an endless labyrinth of corridors, cashmere is changing in shape and color.
In total, the Gobi group produces 1.1 million meters of cashmere fabric, as well as more than one million ready-made knitwear and 35,000 printed with a new state-of-the-art machine. “Until now, Mongolia has been a country that has lived on the exploitation of its raw materials. It is a model that has a high environmental impact and leaves very little benefit in the country, not to mention that it favors the concentration of wealth in a few hands and that is excessively conditioned by external circumstances. Now, however, we have a better trained youth and are in a position to make a qualitative leap, ”said Ariunaa Batchuluun, vice president of the Gobi group.
Diversification
Mongolia is also trying to diversify its markets to reduce dependence on China and Russia, the colossi that surround it and leave this country in a delicate geostrategic position. “Until the beginning of the 21st century, 90% of the production was exported, especially to the former republics of the Soviet Union. Now, Mongolia is developing and, with economic growth, an increasingly wealthy middle class has been born. So we are focusing more on the local market and, outside our borders, in Europe, ”explains the directive.
Undoubtedly, this is a great leap for a company that was founded in 1981 with the help of Japan, which established it as a form of restitution for the brutal campaign of the Empire of the Rising Sun during World War II. As with many other state-owned companies since Mongolia left communism in the 1990s, Gobi was privatized in 2007 and, since then, has not stopped growing. A network of 62 franchises already operates in 41 cities on three continents.
“We have diversified our catalog and have even hired foreign designers. We used to sell most of the raw material in international markets. Although that remains an important business, our efforts are now focused on creating a strong brand image, ”adds Batchuluun. The problem, he acknowledges, is to adapt the products to the tastes of each territory. “Cashmere is a fabric that invites classic designs. Our client is over 35 years old and seeks value in the material. The Mongols are more traditional, but we also have more avant-garde designs for Europe, where cashmere is highly valued. In the United States, however, it is still not appreciated as much and they have it even in popular chains such as Walmart or Target, ”lists the company's vice president.
Gobi is one of the few examples of business success in Mongolia and serves as inspiration for a new batch of brands born in the heat of this unexpected boom. The fact that their designs do not appeal to the youngest or most daring public, and that they are not affordable for the middle class, offers a coveted space to independent designers and new brands such as Naadam, Evseg, or Mandkhai, who market more jovial and colorful clothes .
And in the heat of cashmere have also emerged other fashion companies that dare with a growing range of fabrics and garments as diverse as cocktail dresses or lingerie. The fact that Mongolia is considered the only “100% organic” country, precisely due to the absence of intensive industry and livestock and agriculture, has also promoted cosmetic companies such as Lhamour, founded by Khulan, a rights activist women who, after having lived in the United States and Europe, consider Mongolia a good place for entrepreneurship. "We have to take advantage of the magnificent raw materials offered by the country and go beyond," says the businesswoman.
Destructive grazing
Goats need to eat 10% of their weight every day and, unlike the rest of Mongolian pets, tear off the root of the grass and make it difficult for it to grow back. Therefore, a group of scientists from the Oregon State University (USA) that has studied the evolution of the Mongolian steppe using NASA satellite images, concludes in a report that goats have a significant share of their fault in their degradation .
It is not a trivial matter, because the Asian country is one of those that is suffering the most from a climate change that causes droughts that are increasingly prolonged that facilitate the advance of the desert, to which goats pave the way. Not surprisingly, the number of goats in Mongolia has increased sixfold since 1980. And that is, no doubt, due to how profitable cashmere is.
At this juncture, the American NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) considers that cashmere is the animal fiber with the greatest ecological impact, and estimates that its destructive power is one hundred times greater than that of sheep wool. "The industry contributes to soil degradation and subsequent desertification," says the organization on its website.
As if that were not enough, PETA says that, unlike what can be believed, goats suffer a lot of pain during styling. And the NGO supports that assertion with several videos recorded in both Mongolia and China. "No matter where it comes from or the promises that companies make, cashmere is a product of the cruelty with which this industry treats goats," says Jason Baker, vice president of International Campaigns. Among its main achievements is the promise of brands like H&M to abandon the use of cashmere.
Ariunaa Batchuluun, vice president of the Mongolian company specializing in Kashmir Gobi, however, shakes her head when asked about this situation and ensures that sustainability is essential to avoid killing the golden egg hen and that animal welfare It is inherent in Mongolian culture. "We are part of the Alliance of Sustainable Fibers and we want the sector to be sustainable at a social level," he says. The Government has also launched different initiatives for nomads to organize themselves in cooperatives and be trained in the most sustainable forms of grazing. "Cashmere represents a great opportunity for a country like Mongolia to develop," concludes Batchuluun.