Who We Are...
Heidi Dickens and Christine McBrearty-Hulse crossed pastures as cashmere growers in 2015. The vision of creating a direct avenue to connect US cashmere growers to end users was further fostered by a trip to Tuscany Italy for an International Cashmere Conference.
Christine organized this International Conference in collaboration with the Cashmere Goat Association bringing together top producers and researchers from around the world including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and Switzerland.
It became apparent at this conference that when US cashmere was analyzed against other countries' cashmere it’s length, style, and micron were superior.
To our knowledge, no other source has offered homegrown US cashmere to buyers looking to source a completely US product; be it through yarn or textiles, since the 1980’s. (American Cashmere Goat Marketing Cooperative attempted sourcing US cashmere, but we won’t go down that rabbit hole. Let’s just say we learn from past errors.)
Realizing that today’s cashmere market was international, and that U. S. produced cashmere had only a small portion of the U.S. market, Heidi’s, and Christine's vision for US sourced cashmere from local farms took root. Their many adventures in Italy, which involved learning and researching the international landscape of cashmere growers, fueled their initiative to execute a business model where the producer and distributor join in an integrated sourcing model of US cashmere. The ever-increasing number of consumers attracted to products with sustainable, eco-friendly practices, who are looking to support American agriculture, has pivoted the textile industry to consider sourcing more locally produced raw materials. However, regarding cashmere the US supply chain has been non-existent to date.
Knowing there are many small farms with under 50 goats, as well as the hurdles these farms experience with processing challenges, led to a business model that benefits the growers and the product buyer. Starting with a core group of selective growers that follow guidelines to ensure animal welfare, quality graded fiber, and environmental standards, allows our sourcing practices to ensure a sustainable supply chain. Our vision is to source high-quality cashmere directly from cashmere herds throughout the United States who are healthy and graze sustainably.
Who is the Clean Cashmere Buyer…
Clean Cashmere is pioneering the way to growing the American cashmere industry. Clean Cashmere sources cashmere fiber to end users with different product line goals. The consumer knows that when purchasing from Clean Cashmere they are positively impacting more than just themselves —they’re impacting our nation!
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Clean Cashmere offers 4 lines of cashmere yarn exclusively with other finished end products that are posted on the site in the shop. Clean Cashmere offers different weights of yarns and different quality blends, ALL with that key cashmere ingredient making it incredibly soft & strong. This yarn is never "watered down" with synthetic fibers, allowing it to last for generations to come.
Some Clean Cashmere end users are companies that access Clean Cashmere to source raw US cashmere. These companies are in search of a US cashmere source that checks the boxes for sustainability and eco-friendly practices. To companies looking at the bigger picture forUS cashmere Clean Cashmere provides end users with both the ability to see the source of the product and to access a consistent supply of the product. This includes businesses in the textile, yarn, and artisan categories.
What’s in it for the Farmer…
We meet our farmers in person to provide ongoing partnerships that provide growers with information on best practices, resources and setting attainable goals whether financial or personal for their farms and livelihood as farmers. This approach ensures that our cashmere is traceable all the way to our dehairing mill. Our farms use the North American Cashmere Standard as their herd breed standard.
The number of cashmere goats our families have ranges between 25 to 200. We not only visit all our family farms, but we offer consultation and resources to support growers in harvesting the best cashmere. Clean Cashmere provides a working relationship that includes education for our family farmers. This element is at the core of the working relationship with the farms who join us in resolving the challenge of sourcing 100 % US cashmere. Our policy is to pay a premium price for the best quality cashmere. This helps to sustain and maintain the same quality for the next year. We believe that to make US fiber farms a reality in the marketplace we must invest in educating and paying the grower fairly. It is the right thing to do and makes perfect business sense. Farmers are paid immediately upon receipt of their cashmere at the mill.
Joining the Clean Cashmere Herd means that your fiber is being directly sourced into products that reach a larger audience. Not only informing them that US cashmere growers exist in this country but that they can access a product made completely in the United States.
Our Meet the Herd page allows the buyer to view your farm directly with a Meet the Farmer profile that includes a short interview and profile with pictures of you and your farm. This provides your farm with widespread US exposure while at the same time providing transparency to our buyers. Farms are welcomed to share their website and storefront information on this page. We love to see our farms grow and prosper within the Clean Cashmere Herd and on their own home front!
How to Become Part of the Clean Cashmere Herd…
Clean Cashmere will be launching their exclusive product line and featured herd growers upon the release of their website in late September.
If you are interested in becoming a herd partner and joining the venture of sourcing US cashmere with this unique integrated supply chain model, please reach out to either Heidi or Christine at chulse@cleancashmerefarm.com or hdickens@cleancashmerefarm.com .
Clean Cashmere’s “Meet the Herd” page allows the buyer to view your farm profile. Click below to see the farms in the herd now!