A Crackdown by Cashmere Cops

By Martha Smilgis/New York

Karl Spilhaus shops with a mission. His busy hands rake through the winter- coat racks, expertly fingering the fabric as he examines the labels and checks the prices. When Spilhaus senses a swindle, he purchases the suspicious garment and whisks it to a laboratory where it is sectioned, stripped of dyes and studied under microscopes. Spilhaus is searching for counterfeit cashmere, and all too often he finds it. A garment labeled 70% cashmere/30% wool frequently contains no more than 5% cashmere. The rest? Recycled rags, human hair, acrylic, asbestos, rabbit fur and even newspaper.

Spilhaus is director and chief detective of the Boston-based Camel Hair & Cashmere Institute of America. The group, founded in 1984, is a watchdog agency supported by seven major textile firms. "Nearly 30% of the cashmere sold in the U.S. is mislabeled," says Spilhaus. "Because the demand for cashmere is strong and prices are high, the incentive for shoddy operators is great."

He is not referring merely to street-corner vendors who tempt passersby with "cashmere scarves" for $15. Fake cashmere shows up in major department stores, which are sometimes duped by unscrupulous importers. The counterfeit cloth can come from many parts of the world, but according to the C.C.I.A. and the Federal Trade Commission, the largest quantities are originating in Prato, Italy, a textile town near Florence. Cashmere from England and Scotland is above suspicion, since those countries have stringent regulations to combat counterfeiting.

At best, American retailers are guilty of not asking tough questions of suppliers. In 1985 the C.C.I.A. claimed it found fake-cashmere coats mislabeled in Lord & Taylor, Jordan Marsh and Filene's department stores and filed a federal lawsuit that prompted the retailers to stop selling the line. Since then major stores have generally cooperated with the C.C.I.A.

The wave of counterfeiting is a natural consequence of the surging demand for cashmere, which has become the fabric of choice for affluent baby boomers willing to pay for the best. No longer limiting the cloth to coats, sweaters and scarves, designers have come out with cashmere tunics, miniskirts, camisoles and even sweat suits. Ralph Lauren can barely keep his cabled cashmere sweater for men in stock at $625, while Donna Karan's cashmere & bodysuit ($500 to $800) overwhelmingly outsells her less expensive merino-wool outfit ($200 to $300).

Even as the demand for cashmere rises, the supply is severely limited. The best cashmere is woven from the hair of Kashmir goats that are now raised in China and Mongolia. By the time the finest white cashmere reaches the U.S., it costs up to $200 a yard. A lower grade from Iran and Afghanistan goes for $100 a yard. Experiments to breed the goats elsewhere are being tried in Australia, New Zealand, Iowa, Montana and Colorado. But removed from the deserts and mountains of their rugged natural habitat, the animals grow fat and so far have produced a disappointingly coarse undercoat.

Meanwhile, the counterfeiters have no shortage of substitutes. Some weavers remove the coarser fibers from camel hair to make it feel more like cashmere. Others use yak hair. Says Spilhaus: "The cheating is limited only by the imagination of the cheaters."

The C.C.I.A. suggests that wary consumers look first at prices. An overcoat made from even the lowest grade of cashmere should cost at least $800 and a sweater $200. Then the buyer should examine the craftmanship. If the lapels and buttonholes are poorly finished, chances are the material is as second- rate as the work.