Pashmina refers to a type of fine cashmere wool derived from Changra or Changthangi or Pashmina goat (capra hircus). These goats are found in Changthang, a high altitude plateau with gentle slopes in Ladakh that stretches approximately 1600 km into Tibet; usually raised by the local inhabitants for their milk and (Pashmina) wool. Each goat produces less than 100 grams of wool fiber. A fine Pashmina requires the annual growth of at least three goats to weave one shawl, as only a small part at the root of each hair is soft enough to be true Pashmina.

The wool has been used for thousands of years to make high-quality shawls known as Pashmina shawl. Cashmere wool is strong, light, soft, fine in texture and extremely warm to wear.

Pure Pashmina shawl is said to be almost weightless; hence, when making shawl some quantity of silk is usually added to give the fabric some weight. The quality of the Pashmina shawl is adversely proportionate to the quantity of silk added to it; the less silk in the Pashmina shawl has, the better is its quality and vice-versa.

The Pashmina shawl comes in a wide range of patterns, and ranges from the Jamawar Paisley work Pashmina shawl, to the simple and elegant printed ones. The term Jamawar Paisley refers to the Mughal art of weaving flora and fauna motifs. Paisley are the shawls meant for Western and European buyers.

Pashmina shawl has been traditionally woven by families involved in the business for generations. The intricacies of the embroidered designs have been handed down from one generation to the next. These traditional weavers are responsible for keeping this art form alive, maintaining the high standards that Pashmina shawl is associated with. The information and knowledge accumulated for centuries in a weavers' families pass on to the next generation, which has helped the Pashmina shawl to improve further in design, look, texture and pattern. Although traditional designs are being pursued with, experiments with modern patterns is not new with each generation.

Pashmina shawl is manufactured in Kashmir, Tibet and Nepal besides several other parts of the world. It is difficult to say when Pashmina was first brought into use. The founder of the cashmere wool industry is traditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir, Zayn-ul-Abidin, who introduced weavers from Central Asia. Since the 17th century, emperors, kings, queens and nobles from around the world have revered this special wool, known as 'cashmere' to the west and went to great lengths to possess it. The technique of shawl-weaving tasted prosperity during the Mughal regime in India. Emperor Akbar was known to be an avid collector of Pashmina shawls. In 1853, it took 30 artisans nine months to weave a Pashmina shawl for the Empress of France. Pashmina shawl had become a fashion statement in London and Paris. Josephine, Napoleon’s wife, was known to have a collection of around one thousand Pashmina shawls.

Pure Pashmina shawl is unmistakable for its softness, negligible weight and warmth. As pure Pashmina yarn is very expensive some manufacturers blend their shawl with silk thread, rabbit fur or wool. A Pashmina shawl can range in cost from as little as about US$ 35 for a pure Pashmina scarf or up to thousands of US dollars.

If you are looking to contact suppliers of pashmina shawls from India then I would suggest you to use the services of b2b portal like tradeindia.com (http://www.tradeindia.com/Seller/Apparel-Fashion/Pashmina-Shawls/). This site has comprehensive database of pashmina shawls suppliers from India and offer different services for buyers and sellers of pashmina shawls.