6 Reasons Why You Should Gift A Pashmina

When it comes to finding the perfect gift for someone special, be it a special occasion or any other ordinary day, it never seems to be an easy thing to do! We always want to have that WOW factor, but not only because we have picked something really fabulous, but also to show that we have actually, indeed, put a lot of thought in it. 

Throughout the years we often hear customers say: "Oh this is absolutely amazing, it'll be the perfect gift for one of my best girl friends ..." or "now I know what to buy for my mom's birthday and she won't complain that I always buy something she can't use...". In fact more than a third of our customers seem to be buying these gorgeous pashmina scarves or shawls for someone they care other than themselves.  

And we think they are perfect gifts too! That's why we started a couple of years ago the Eco Holiday and Thoughtful Gift initiative, where we source sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly products, mostly locally made in small quantities that are suitable for personal or business gifts.

Take our pashmina scarves as an example, there are several aspects why they make great presents, and why whoever is on the receiving end will appreciate them a great deal: 

 

Handmade pashmina is a centuries old, widely popular trade and craft most likely originated from the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain regions, which later was introduced to the world as a rare, luxurious fabric from the East. 

While the history of mankind using wool for warm-keeping and decoration can be traced back to as early as 3000 B.C., the word 'pashmina' became known around 13-14th century, a Persian derived word referring to the extremely fine, delicate fabric woven on a handloom using the inner fleece of pashm goat, a special species of mountain goat from the northern Ladak/Tibetan terrains. This rare, premium quality fiber was used to create the prestige Kashmir Shawls, once made its name in the world for the splendid designs, colors, creativity and craftsmanship that no other has ever achieved.

Over the 600 years of history, Kashmir Shawls played significant roles not only in its own pashmina industry, but also influenced to a great deal the modern day textile industry of Europe with its sophisticated weaving techniques, dyeing processes, exotic and unique creation of motifs that embedded artistic point of views from various cultures that ruled Kashmir over time.

These unique qualities and characters are still evident in the modern day pashmina shawl making, inspiring generations of designers, artists and shawl makers. Each single piece tells a story, a story of the people, the places and the time. Keeping traditional arts and crafts like this alive, we are preserving great value and wisdom for the world to benefit from. 

 

2. Supporting local communities 

One other great thing we see in handmade pashmina is how it supports local communities, families and economy in such ways that people do not have to leave their homes to get jobs or extra income. Believe or not, this is tremendously valuable to keep local communities strong and integrated.

in the case of Kashmir Shawls, even after nearly a century long disturbances and instability, the local communities managed to keep the industry alive. Even though a great deal of knowledge and skills are lost over time, most of the traditional practices, disciplines are preserved and still followed in today's shawl making, which is extraordinarily rare.

With the younger generations of shawl makers turning to international and cross-border collaborations, we believe there is great potential still to be explored regarding new possibilities for this century old art. 

Seeing most of the handmade pashmina industries in other regions like Nepal, India, China have disappeared following industrialization and fast fashion, we see a tremendous value in helping sustain this traditional craft and further incorporate it in the future of fashion. Buying a handmade pashmina certainly helps. 

 

3. Eco-friendly is a Choice 

We believe Sustainability is the new trend, not only in the fashion world but also in the general lifestyle. And we want it to be a choice rather than necessity. Today we seek solutions in more sustainable productions and commerces, but one of the easiest thing to do is to support small scale production with minimum waste and pollution. Because they are already there, creating and re-creating beautiful products following practices and wisdom passed on by older generations who once knew how to coexist with nature in harmony.

And it's not just about the environment, it's also about LOVE. When we choose these handmade pashmina over the commercial brands, we choose to be part of their stories. As the saying goes "we are what we eat", I think it goes the same for 'we are what we wear". When we look at these hand made pashmina, we know where the material comes from, who made these products and how, we feel the love, the patience, the wisdom, and the pride that goes into these beautiful textile items. We can create a connection through these story-telling pieces.

It feels personal. And there is no better gift that those that bring a personal touch.

 

4. Gorgeous and Practical

We are strong believers of natural fibers. It goes without saying wool is one of the best natural fibers that is just very practical and easy to care. 

As a modern day 'on the go' woman, keeping a lightweight pashmina scarf or shawl in the bag is becoming absolutely a new trend. It keeps you warm at all times, and give you a makeover styling in no time should you have to run from the office directly to a social get-together or a spontaneous event where you want to look fabulous. 

Not to mention how easily it goes with just about any outfit - Post pandemic everybody is going for sporty and casual styles. Suddenly we see a lot of sneakers, jerseys, jeans and everybody wants to be easy-going and comfortable. Which is perfect since handmade pashmina is already a slow fashion, and nothing is as comfortable, laid back as a fine pashmina that is chic, elegant effortless, and simply great for everyone. 

 

5. Personalized and Lifetime services

We take gifting very seriously. No matter you are gifting someone you care about, or giving yourself a treat. We understand a fine pashmina shawl is no small deed, and we always try to make your experience as great as possible, even years after you have purchased a shawl from us. 

In a world of today where almost nothing lasts any more, we just want to be there forever. And this is one of the main reasons we love to work with this industry, because we have hundreds and thousands of designers, artists, artisans we can work with to continuously bring good quality products and services, even tailor made solutions. Because this is how it should be - the real luxury is not the gift item itself, but a personalized, tailor made, care-free experience, to know that you are part of a community that is keeping something beautiful going. 

 

6. Thoughtful gifts go a long way 

The last (but far from the final) argument for gifting a pashmina, is that we think it really shows that you care. We have always enjoyed the process where a customer is spending way more time selecting the right piece for a gift item, because they want to make sure it's the perfect one. I'm sure many other gifts show the same thing, but I just want to say this because I myself am really a big fan of pashmina -there is something very personal and endearing about it, that we always feel right away. When someone tears off the ribon, open the box, lift the wrapping papers, they will always fall in love with what they see and feel. The softness will reach anyone from the fingertips. 

And it's just a gorgeous feeling to know you have picked the perfect gift for someone special. If not for all the things we have said above, just for that single moment, the smile on their face. You will know it's worth it.