This is a story of beauty turned ugly. A story of a species turned fashion victim. A story of murder and subterfuge on the roof of the world. This is the story of shahtoosh.
Shahtoosh means the 'King of Wools' in Parisian- a perfect description for an ultra fine wool that’s known for its extraordinary lightness, its delicacy and its unbelievable warmth.
They sell for $1,000 to $5,000 and more, and have become the rage among the rich, famous, and fashionable. Movie stars wrap newborns in them, socialites drape them over ball gowns, and a Hong Kong tycoon dines with one in his lap.
Shahtoosh owes its “royal” status to the light delicate hair from which it is woven. The coat of the endangered Tibetan antelope, or
chiru, contains some of the world’s finest hair, which is around 6 times thinner than the average human hair.
That’s a very fine hair!.. They are so fine that even a large shawl can be pulled with ease through a finger ring, giving it its other name
“ring shawl”.
In order to collect the fine hairs, These beautiful animals have to be
SLAUGHTERED!.. Because each hair needs to be individually plucked from the skin. Thus the animals are
hunted down and
KILLED!
Just imagine,
three to five animals are killed for every shahtoosh shawl sold!
The
Chirus now are in serious danger, and are facing a very real threat of extinction—
for the sake of fashion. No matter how wealthy you are, if you buy a
shahtoosh shawl you’ll be the reason why three of these beautiful animals lost their lives.
Shahtoosh, the epitome of elite luxury, has blood on it. Some may take pride in owning one, but there is really no pride once you know the true cost of these blood shawls.
Luckily, more and more high profile celebrities have realized that wearing a
shahtoosh shawl is harmful to their reputation. Some have even joined campaigns against the sale of these shawls.
Of course, some do know but don’t care. The human desire for luxury often gets in the way of what’s right and proper. As long as people are willing to feed their selfish attitudes, the trade in
shahtoosh shawls will continue... but only for as long as the Tibetan Antelope exists, which there will be no more in just 3 years!.
The alternative?.. Mookerjee, a senior director with the New Delhi-based Wildlife Trust of India, believes that the
pashma shawl, is the perfect alternative, as the traditional weavers in India’s Kashmir state are highly qualified and is producing a legal, high-quality hand-woven pashmina that will soon become internationally recognized.
Major brands already started producing tissue- like fine, baby-skin soft, 100% kashmiri wool shawls. They come in every shade of color imaginable: My sister bought light purple, and mustard yellow. I ordered deep red and sky blue.. They are just amazing, you can wear them guilt-free.
Final note to girls still insisting on buying Shahtooshs: Know that since it is now banned to trade in
Shahtoosh in most countries- (recently also in UAE), most of the shawls being sold are fake. “
Very often, the shahtoosh sellers do not even give genuine shahtoosh to their customers,” Mookerjee said, “
It is mixed with pashmina or other materials.”.. And no one is the wiser !
So, if you are not concerned in saving baby chirus, save your money then as no
Shahtoosh shawls are genuine any more!
PLEASE, say NO to SHAHTOOSH!!!
