When it comes to finding the best fibers for your winter wardrobe, wool has always been a popular choice. However, there are different types of wool to consider, depending on the animal it comes from.
Cashmere has long been regarded as the best wool for warmth and softness, but there is now a new contender on the market. Recently available to everyone on this side of the world, there is yak wool.
What is yak?
Yak is the name of the animal, a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, and the fibre too.
This fibre has been considered an alternative to cashmere as it is more sustainable, breathable, durable, and easy to care for.
- More sustainable: it takes up to 3 goats to produce a sweater; so to have a competitive amount of wool, it’s necessary a lot of goats. For them to have food, there has been overgrazing stressing the natural ecological role goats play in the region and the degradation of grasslands immediately impacts more than half of the population of Mongolia who relies on to the land.
- More breathable: to survive the harsh conditions of their natural habitat, yak has developed enhance characteristics such as crimps in their fibers. Crimps are natural waves is the wool that allows air entrapment. These dynamic air pockets insulate yak in extreme colds and wick vapor, cooling in extreme heat.
- More durable: other characteristic enhanced by their crimps. The flexibility gained from the crimps in the wool makes it a more durable fibre.
Also, both have a number of unique moisture management properties that leads them to be odor resistant, as they can isolate and resist to bacterial build-up. It is ideal for base and mid-layers.
You can find some references with yak in one of our newest collections – S24!