Executive summary:
Kashmir and savannah regeneration: If you buy a cashmere sweater on the Internet, Paypal, which secures your electronic fund transfer, will earn as much money on sale as the sheep farmer who had to endure the winter months under the moon at least 35 ° C in order to produce natural cashmere. Cashmere is a strong brand and demand is constantly increasing. Despite the production of lighter fibers and less expensive production techniques, the overall demand for cashmere increased to the point that the number of goats destroys the fragile ecosystem of the Gobi desert, both in Mongolia
and China.
The blue economy offers a solution: a change in commercial model based on the market economy, but which recognizes the unique role of breeders and the need to preserve the ecosystem. Instead of subjecting them
instead of submitting breeders at an ever lower world market price which is decided by buyers and processors, breeders should be remunerated as designers or inventors. A 10% commission on the sale price to the consumer would multiply income by 12. Most breeders immediately reduce the herd and
thus relieve pressure on land. This is what the Blue Economy team
is what the Blue Economy team seeks to do in collaboration with breeders' cooperatives in Mongolia.
Keywords: cashmere, ecosystems, Gobi desert, Goyo, creator, commissions, paypal, economic model, desertification, specialization, outsourcing, involuntary consequences,
Protect the culture of cashmere in the 21st century
The new world of cashmere
If you wear a fine and soft cashmere sweater, you are likely to contribute to the desertification of Mongolia. I did not like this idea when I was standing on the edge of the Gobi desert, but the harsh reality is that we are often not aware of the involuntary consequences that we provoke by wearing some of the finest clothes. Even if this organic sweater carries a biological label, this does not automatically imply that the absence of chemicals makes the wearing of goat hair lasting. An ever -increasing demand exerts excessive pressure on production. Whenever the number of pasture goats increases in this fragile savannah bordering arid lands, the desert extends. The question to ask is therefore: the best answer is to plant trees to stem the expansion of the desert, as are trying to do dozens of NGOs, or should we rather attach to Conceive an economic system that improves the means of subsistence of breeders?
When we analyzed the value chain of a cashmere sweater bought on the internet, it is with dismay that we realized that PayPal® wins as much on the sale of this sweater to secure the payment as the breeder. He devotes his life and that of his family to the well-being of his animals and the meticulous shaving of goat hair, which only grow in the sweetest variety that if animals survive harsh winters in the open air, accompanied by their breeder. The only way for breeders to survive - according to economists - is to adopt this modern market mechanism called "management of the supply chain". This close control of all inputs aims to reduce costs, thus opening the way to the possession of a greater number of goats which - according to the law - graze for free on public land, and to reduce the load of washing, of the Spinning, dyeing, weaving, sewing and sale by entrusting each function to a specialized operator. These specialized niche players are mainly based in China which is responsible for 40% of cashmere production while the majority is produced in Mongolia.
We find normal that the creator of a dress touches 10% of the final sale price of a garment; We also find it normal for the supplier of an industrial drawing to be remunerated by royalties on the products and services that come from this creation. It is therefore surprising that everyone (especially economists) expects farmers and breeders to submit to the “world market price” and accept the value awarded to a kilogram. All the other players in the value chain add their committee to the basic cost. Unfortunately, the vast majority of service providers care little about whether the price of the kilogram paid to the breeder offers or not livelihoods to his family.
The promise of an increase in demand if the final price decreases the "guardians of the earth" to produce more. It is the start of the search for economies of scale, whatever the environmental and social cost. We all know that the more goats there, the more desertification there is. This is the predictable recipe for disaster. However, there is a second recipe for the disappearance of traditional industries like that of cashmere, which thrive in Mongolia and the surrounding area for 5,000 years: specialization. The higher the volume, the more the experts exert pressure to impose standardization. The result is a decrease in creative contribution from skilled workers, transforming people into machines and reducing margins at levels never reached. This honors the ever -lower price quest for the end consumer in order to further stimulate demand since the price elasticity for a product sought as cashmere is strong: a price reduction leads to much higher demand. The promise of higher volumes goes beyond profit, because the learning curve of a high volume and a low margin opens the way to professional services, which are added to the cost of materials.
When the traditional nomads, which keep these goats for millennia, see only this short-term reality presented by foreign experts graduates in trade and endowed with financial expertise, they are ready to risk overgrazing while subcontracting Cheaper, reducing their role to the custody of herds and shaving. The drawback is that breeders have now adopted a production and distribution model that offers no wealth, not even real income. The difficulties that ensue are well documented and will prevent their children from dreaming of one day being a goat breeder. The next generation believes that its future lies in migration to the city. Soon, there will be no cashmere for sale since the ecosystem collapsed and the breeders have moved on to something else. Modernity has arrived, or?
It is important at this stage to remain positive, to refrain from looking for a culprit, never to accuse those responsible for this blind belief in the benefits of globalization, and to complain about the money of the intermediaries and the harmful role foreign experts. The key for any social contractor and activist is to remain positive and seek opportunities on how to design a better system, to identify ways and means where no one else has ventured and to imagine a model Commercial who will ultimately make breeders happy, so happy that her children believe that the future is with goats and the steppe. This requires three changes in the rules of trade.
Three steps that change trade rules
The first trade rule which must change is the fixing of the price of cashmere and the sharing of the added value generated by the final sale to the end customer should be the same remuneration model as a designer: 10% of the sale price. After all, if there is no cashmere, there is no commission for anyone. This allows the breeder to imagine the size of his herd, the annual woolen production. If the breeder receives the “market price” on the delivery of raw wool, he can pocket a commission when the final sale has been concluded. Everyone will seek to obtain the best quality and the best value for money instead of putting pressure to obtain more volume at ever lower costs.
This offers freedom to determine roles and responsibilities, crafts and arts, design and cost. In fact, the breeder and his family can now decide their lifestyle. Even if a cashmere sweater was sold directly at half the price, the breeder's revenues could still be multiplied by ten. The pressure exerted on the production of an ever higher number of sheep is thus released. Thus, with half of the number of sheep, he would still double his income, immediately reversing the advance of the Gobi desert while ensuring a better quality of life, and a future for their children. Like most of the debt contracted by farmers is intended for the education of their children, a better future for everyone is in sight.
The two economic models are based on a free market. The model of globalization (which is presented graphically on the coverage of this article) leads to increased desertification and, in the end, to the complete disappearance of the ecosystem as well as this 5,000 -year -old cashmere trade. The commission model (presented at the end of this article) secures the cashmere trade forever, while reducing the offer, which will result in higher prices on the market, most likely triggering a new drop in production , and an increase in quality of life. In the end, this will strengthen the ecosystem and reverse desertification. It should be noted that this economic model requires, in addition to the economic model, government regulations.
Table 1: Revenue from breeders according to the economic model.
The second change in the terms of exchange is the process of transforming wool into clothing. World cashmere production is barely 21,000 tonnes, that of cotton is just under 100 million tonnes, and Mongolia produces 9,000 tonnes, or 40%. Why would we subject the cashmere to the same productivity logic as cotton, where everything is subject to the rapid evolution of fashion? The production of large volumes thrives through outsourcing, which requires some to specialize. Each intermediate product will be shipped and will result in additional costs and funding which exceeds the means of the breeder who thus loses the majority - or even all - on the part of added value.
The response to the preservation of the culture and tradition of cashmere is a vertical integration of wool into clothing, and not a specialization of each step of the process. Although this does not offer the perception of great efficiency, low cost and growing volumes, this allows the differentiation and interpretations of craftsmen, the selection of the finest hair and 38 natural shades of color The threats of threats in the desired length and thickness to create unique effects, surprising patterns using the natural colors of the "underwear" of goats, and finally put an end to the coat.
It offers a wide opportunity for craftsmen and women to contribute with their unique skills, and to gain a significant share of income, which can start to circulate in the local economy by stimulating growth beyond what is considered viable by traditional market economists. Breeders who used to go into debt to finance the education of their children can now pay for schooling of the next generation without going into debt. Children from family families can now believe in a realistic way that there is a future, and know that there is a demand for their skills, both technical and artistic.
Third, we have to enlighten customers so that they buy precious clothes not as an object but as a remarkable symbiosis between the need of goats to isolate their body against the freezing winds for long winters in a fragile ecology with a hair Based on protein, while protecting the body with a waterproof envelope in harmony with millennial mowing professions to the design of this wonder of nature creating a sea of comfort and softness.
It is time to consider cashmere as a precious creation that any buyer wishes to bequeath to the next generation, as it was in the past, and not as an object of consumption like the cotton shirt bought from Zara or H&M. Instead of exploiting cashmere at low prices like a magnet to bring people into the store, it turns into a conscious decision which includes awareness of the preservation of culture, tradition and ecosystems through A single purchase decision. If the project is well done, as imagined by this briefing, we will no longer need to plant trees to fight against the advance of the desert. The steppe will find the path of the evolution of which it has enjoyed millennia, even before Gengis Khan reigns between China and Europe.
Graphic 2: The virtuous economic cycle from an inner change.
Epilogue
The Zeri EU Foundation-Foundation for A Blue Economy is associated with the Tuvd agency in Berlin, Goyo, a local cashmere production company in Ulan-Bator, and the Spanish designer Sybilla Sorondo to create a special Cashmere line which will be sold exclusively in pop-up blinds in Tokyo, Madrid and New York. Goal breeders will receive 10 % of the final sale price paid by the customer. For more information, follow @myblueeconomy on Twitter and Facebook.
With special thanks
to Mrs. Boldgerel TUVD, which offers everyone a guarantee of monitoring and continuity, to Sybilla Sorondo which devoted their life to serving people, in particular farmers and women who provided them with the extraordinary natural ingredients that make life elegant And beautiful, and in Katherina Bach for her unconditional support, from graphics to photography through the details of life that make the difference. And to those who inspire me science and logic and tolerate my sometimes scandalous proposals to change the world ... Now.
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