The Hands Behind the Fibre
It’s a cool day. Autumn. You wrap your blanket around your shoulders and feel the smooth warmth it provides. You pull it a bit closer – because it is so soft and comforting. A gorgeous model struts down the runway in Milan. She is adorned with the latest creation from a famous designer. It feels silky, lustrous, classy and trendy. Both are made from mohair. From the humble Angora goat – born, bred and shed in the Eastern Cape of South Africa – the unique characteristics of mohair make it irresistible – wrinkle and moisture resistant, extremely durable, lightweight, flame retardant, anti-bacterial and possessing an outstanding lustre and shine. Quite simply, mohair is sublime.
From farm to fashion, the entire process is one of love, passed from one set of hands to another, each step closer to the beautiful, finished product. Just how does it all weave together? Let’s begin with history. In 1838 the sultan of Turkey sent 12 neutered Angora rams and one ewe to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Wanting to protect his country’s powerful monopoly in the mohair trade, the sultan ensured that all rams were rendered infertile. Unbeknown to anyone, the ewe was already pregnant and gave birth to a ram kid en route to South Africa. The rest is history. Today approximately 800 000 goats in South Africa produce in excess of 2-million kilograms of mohair annually. And 50% of the world’s mohair comes from the Karoo region in South Africa.
The journey from goat to garment begins with the hands of the farmers and their farmworkers. A good farmer is always among his animals. They get to know the goats, understand the goats, and make sure that the goats are healthy and well cared for. Farming with Angora goats requires dedication and nurturing, and a hands-on approach.When the goats’ hair is long enough, it’s time for shearing. And it’s a BIG deal. It’s organised and it requires hard work. There are two general shearing seasons – January to March and August to October – although this changes per region, according to rainfall and temperature. Shearing a goat by hand requires a specialised skillset.
The safety of the goats and of the shearers is a priority. The shearers use either hand shears or electric clippers and undergo intensive training as an industry standard.Once shorn the greasy hair is classed into nine different types over the three different goat age categories – kid, young goat and adult. This is where the meticulous skill of visually analysing and feeling the hair is critical, so that it’s classed correctly. Once classed, they are baled, weighing in at 180kg per bale when full. That is a lot of hand power! From the farm, these bulging bales are delivered to the brokers who present them for auction.
There are 14 busy and competitive auctions each year and the buyers bid and buy the mohair according to their international and local clients’ needs. A good buyer will know and understand the feel, texture and quality of the fibre.
This careful analysis is possible after many hours of learning about the fibre through the intricate senses of touch and feel. After the buyers have purchased the fibre, those bales are delivered to a processing mill where the greasy mohair is washed, scoured and combed into tops, which rid the hair of vegetable matter and impurities.
To see how it all fits together, I visit one of these mills – a Stucken Group company, Gubb & Inggs in Uitenhage. We are met by factory superintendent Neil Vermaak, who takes us around. He has been with Gubb & Inggs since 2009 and it’s his job to make sure that this process is seamless. It’s a challenging function but Neil loves it. “We encounter new challenges every day and I love finding the solutions,” he says. He is especially proud of the fact that mohair is a green fibre.
“It is biodegradable and after its life has come to an end, the fibre returns to the soil – the circle completes,”
he smiles.
The tops are then spun into a yarn according to customer specifications. The structure and the thickness (yarn count) can be twisted or raised for a fluffy brushed appearance. Interestingly enough, the purified lanolin by-product from this part of the process is used in face creams, soaps and ointments. This industry doesn’t like to waste. Our famous mohair tops are now ready to be sold and exported internationally, or are retained in South Africa to be spun into yarns. Stucken Yarns production manager Lynette Mabandla is passionate about her job. “I work closely with the plant manager to ensure that the flow, quality standards and upkeep of the factory is flawless. Giving our customers the best quality every time is of utmost importance to us and the company.” I can see how this translates – the factory is spotless. There are many hands involved in this process and it’s a busy place, full of activity – checking the machinery, loading the yarn, and weighing and packing the finished product. “I learn something new every day – it never gets boring,” she says. I see she is wearing a brightly coloured mohair scarf on this cool day.
Onto the dyeing process and it’s fascinating. Because mohair is a protein fibre, colour tints are absorbed beautifully into its fibre, giving it a rich and long-lasting hue. We walk into a busy dyeing room where there are all sorts of interesting smells and sounds. I watch the fibre going around and around in the vessel, hungrily absorbing the colour, sending me into a trance. Dye House manager John McNair is busy with his day. He says life in the House is hectic, always, but after 40 years in the industry, he is used to it. In the adjacent room there is an interesting colour laboratory, full of small bottles of dyes, where lots of experiments are conducted to ensure that the colours are specific and correct. Every step needs to be perfect. Once dyed the yarn can either be exported for knitting and weaving internationally or sent to a local weaving mill for manufacturing fabric according to the specs of the client. And this is where the beautiful fibre enters the world of design! Mandy Erasmus, who is the textile design co-ordinator at the Hinterveld Weaving Mill, tells me a bit about her job.
“I have a terrific part to play in this whole process. I get to work with international fashion design houses who need very specific fabrics and colours, and together we create the fabric to spec and weave the rolls of fabric, ready for the designers to create their magic.”
“I get to touch this fibre every working day of my life.”
Her job includes researching trends, selection of the yarns, translating these designs to the weaving looms, labelling them and making sure of confidentiality so that fashion houses trust that their specific design is unique. I ask her why mohair is so special. “Oh my goodness, where do I start? Well, for one it’s anti-bacterial. It’s strong and durable and has amazing lustre and brilliance.” I think she could be describing herself!
She works closely with Hinterveld production manager Victor Cummings. He supervises the conversion of yarn into fabric, chasing 100% customer satisfaction. It is imperative that he avails the product at the right time, with the right quality and quantity! There is a lot to this and I ask him how he does it.
“Communication and transparency is key amongst us staff. It is my job to make sure that we are all kept informed about everything.” Both of them use their hands when they talk about their jobs, underlining their enthusiasm. The onsite Hinterveld shop, a short walk down the hall, is bursting with colour and texture.
There are scarves, blankets, beanies, gloves, socks, jerseys, wraps and even a rug or two. The offering is huge and the prices appetising. I see a customer gently pick out a blanket. She pulls it against her skin and closes her eyes. She is in another world. Later I see her at the checkout. She’s holding that blanket, a scarf and a wrap! I take a few minutes to marvel at this mohair – how a humble goat can keep on producing hair and, through this intricate process, ends up keeping us warm and comfortable and stylish. Whether on the catwalks of Europe or in the homes of loyal consumers, mohair has made its mark in the textile world.
It has arrived at the forefront of sustainability through the implementation of the Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) and is continuously working towards ethical consumerism. So it’s because of those farms in the mohair-producing regions, because of those intelligent goats, right through the hardy journey, step by step, to when we finally feel the soft finished garment against our skin that we get to appreciate the magic of mohair. This is possible because of the many skilled, experienced and loving hands behind the fibre, which are continuously hard at work.