Mongolian goat farmers have seen the price of Cashmere plunge after years of high prices driven by the West’s seemingly insatiable desire for luxury.

Many of the farmers, including Dalantai Khatanbaatar, have taken out loans to get by but can’t pay them back without selling the livestock that sustains them in the first place.

Like 40 percent of the country’s population, Khatanbaatar is a herder. With 250 sheep, 80 cashmere goats and 50 horses, Khatanbaatar regards himself as middling-poor and now he’s struggling to pay back his $350 loan.

“Before I used to buy lots of bags of flour and rice to stockpile over there. Now you see it’s empty,” Khatanbaatar says of the storage space in his ger. “We cannot eat any less. We don’t eat too much anyway.”

And with winter looming, it’s likely that the worst is still ahead, as National Public Radio reports in this story.

1. Why Cashmere Costs
2. All Things Cashmere
3. Goats denude Mongolia
4. Cashmere Toilet Paper
5. Cashmere Hot Water Bottle Cover

Tags: Fiber

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