Cashmere is the least forgiving fibre in a knitwear range — the customer expects softness, the buyer expects consistency, and any shortcut in fibre grade or finishing shows immediately. We knit Grade A Inner Mongolia cashmere on Shima Seiki and Stoll flat-knit machines in Gaziantep, under your label, with the origin paperwork prepared so your goods can claim the UK–Turkey FTA preferential duty at the border. One honest note up front: cashmere is not grown in Turkey — the fibre comes from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. What Turkey contributes is the flat-knit machinery, skilled operators and finishing infrastructure that turn that fibre into a garment a UK premium customer will pay for.

Cashmere Manufacturing Capabilities

01

Fibre Quality

Grade A Inner Mongolia cashmere sourced from spinners who document origin. Mill certificates and traceability documentation available on request — the supply-chain paper trail your retail buyers and your Modern Slavery statement increasingly expect.

02

Gauge & Construction

Cashmere runs at 12gg and 14gg for fine, close fabrics, with 10gg for midweight and stitch-pattern styles. 2-ply construction is the standard for fine-gauge cashmere knitwear — fitted crew necks, rollnecks and cardigans.

03

WHOLEGARMENT Option

Seamless cashmere on Shima Seiki 12gg and 14gg — no side seams at all. For cashmere this is a meaningful upgrade: removing seams removes bulk and improves drape at every wearing.

04

Private Label & Finishing

Your woven labels, hangtags and custom branding. Linking in-house for clean, flat seams on fully fashioned pieces, with piece-by-piece QC inspection before packing.

Pure Cashmere or Blend? An Honest Comparison

Pure cashmere is not automatically the right answer. Cashmere alone pills faster than blended yarns, and fibre cost per unit is meaningfully above merino equivalents. Blends are available for cost optimisation — and in some silhouettes they are simply the better fabric.

YarnTypical GaugeCharacter & Best Use
2-ply pure cashmere12–14ggClosest, most refined hand — fitted crew necks, rollnecks and cardigans at premium retail
Cashmere-merino 80/207–14ggA cashmere story with better durability and lower material cost — the common entry point for a first cashmere programme
Cashmere-merino 50/507–14ggReads closer to merino but with a noticeably softer finish — strong value at contemporary price points
Cashmere-silk (70/30, 85/15)12–14ggLustre, drape and slight sheen — best in drapey silhouettes like longline cardigans and relaxed pullovers

Fibre composition appears on the care label in line with UK textile labelling regulations. For grades, pricing and what to ask a supplier, see our guide to cashmere knitwear manufacturing for UK brands.

How a Private Label Cashmere Programme Runs

01

Tech Pack & Yarn

Send a tech pack or a reference style. We confirm feasibility, recommend gauge and construction, and source the cashmere or blend yarn with origin documentation.

02

Sampling

Proto sample in 10–14 days from an approved tech pack. You review fit and hand, we revise, then a pre-production sample locks the standard for bulk.

03

Production & QC

Bulk runs in 45–60 days against the approved PP sample — knitted, linked and finished in Gaziantep with piece-by-piece inspection before packing under your label.

04

Shipping to the UK

Ocean freight from Mersin reaches Felixstowe in roughly 10–14 days — versus four to six weeks from East Asia — with the EUR.1 movement certificate or origin declaration prepared as standard alongside full export documentation.

The UK–Turkey FTA and Cashmere — the Honest Conditions

Post-Brexit, the UK and Turkey kept a Free Trade Agreement in place, and most knitwear (HS 61) qualifies for a 0% preferential tariff rather than the standard MFN rate that Chinese-origin jumpers pay. On cashmere the saving matters more than on any other fibre in your range: duty is charged on value, and cashmere carries the highest unit value in knitwear — so the preferential rate goes straight to the landed cost of your most expensive pieces.

Because the fibre itself comes from Mongolia, brands sometimes assume a Turkish cashmere jumper cannot qualify for preference. In general it can: under the agreement's rules of origin for knitwear, origin is conferred by the manufacturing carried out in Turkey — the garment being knitted here from yarn — not by where the raw fibre was grown. The shipment must still travel with a valid EUR.1 movement certificate or an origin declaration on the invoice; if the paperwork is missing or the origin criteria aren't met, HMRC applies the full MFN duty. We prepare the origin documentation as standard, but the responsible move is always to have your customs broker confirm the treatment for your exact style before you place the order — see our guide to rules of origin and the EUR.1 for the detail.

Why UK Brands Source Cashmere from Turkey

Most of the world's cashmere knitwear is knitted in China, and the heritage alternatives — Scotland and Italy — run minimums and price points built for established luxury houses. Turkey sits between the two: Turkish flat-knit factories run the same Shima Seiki and Stoll machinery as European luxury producers, at a 250-piece MOQ that Italian and Scottish mills rarely match, with a duty position Chinese-origin goods can't touch — Turkish-origin cashmere can enter the UK at the 0% preferential rate under the FTA, while Chinese-origin jumpers pay the standard MFN duty.

A 250-piece colourway is realistic for a UK contemporary or premium brand positioned at genuine cashmere retail — at fast-fashion price points, cashmere is the wrong fibre regardless of where it's made, and we'll tell you so. Add a short, single-site supply chain — one factory, no subcontracting, documented fibre origin — and you have a sourcing story that is straightforward to write into a Modern Slavery statement and to stand behind with your customers.

FAQ: Cashmere Jumper Manufacturing

What grade of cashmere do you use?

We knit Grade A Inner Mongolia cashmere, sourced from spinners who document fibre origin. Mill certificates and origin documentation are available on request — the supply-chain paper trail that supports due diligence under the UK Modern Slavery Act and the questions premium buyers now ask as standard.

What gauge is best for a cashmere jumper?

14gg produces the closest, most refined cashmere fabric for positioned luxury. 12gg is the most common production gauge for contemporary cashmere — a good balance of refinement and production speed. 10gg suits midweight or stitch-pattern cashmere where slight openness is intentional. WHOLEGARMENT seamless is available on 12gg and 14gg Shima Seiki machines.

Do you produce cashmere blends?

Yes. Cashmere-merino (80/20 or 50/50) improves durability and lowers material cost while keeping the soft hand, and cashmere-silk (typically 70/30 or 85/15) adds lustre and drape. Fibre composition is labelled in line with UK textile labelling regulations.

What is the MOQ for a private label cashmere programme?

Our standard MOQ is 250 pieces per colour, per size — realistic for UK contemporary and premium brands positioned at genuine cashmere retail price points. Proto samples run in 10–14 days from an approved tech pack; bulk production runs in 45–60 days against the approved PP sample.

Do cashmere jumpers from Turkey enter the UK duty-free?

Most Turkish-made knitwear qualifies for a 0% preferential tariff under the UK–Turkey Free Trade Agreement — but it is conditional, not automatic. The garment must meet the agreement's rules of origin and travel with a valid EUR.1 movement certificate or an origin declaration on the invoice. For knitwear, origin is generally conferred by where the garment is knitted rather than where the raw fibre was grown — which is why a jumper knitted in Turkey from Mongolian cashmere yarn can still qualify. We prepare the origin documentation as standard, but always have your customs broker confirm the duty treatment for your specific style before you commit.

Start your cashmere programme

Send a tech pack or a reference style. We'll return a capacity check, a yarn recommendation — pure cashmere or blend — and a sample timeline within one business day.

Related

→ Merino Cardigan Manufacturer → Mohair Cardigan Manufacturer → Luxury Knitwear Manufacturer → WHOLEGARMENT Manufacturing → Rollneck Jumper Manufacturer → Cashmere Knitwear Manufacturing Guide → Turkey vs Scotland Knitwear → UK–Turkey FTA: Duty-Free Knitwear
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