Cashmere Factory Visit Checklist: 10 Things B2B Buyers Should Prepare Before Going to Ordos

A cashmere factory visit is the only way to verify claims that no document can prove: whether the sorting operation actually runs on the floor, whether the combing machines are loaded today or next month, whether the lab has a working micronometer or a certificate on the wall.

But most first-time buyers arrive with a spreadsheet of questions and leave without the three observations that matter most. This is the preparation checklist we recommend — what to send 2 weeks ahead so the mill can have the right yarn on the floor, the 10 things to look at in order, the 4 questions that reveal whether a mill runs its own sorting or relabels someone else’s work, and the specific red flags in a cashmere facility that are not red flags in any other textile mill.

Two weeks before: what to send ahead

A factory visit where the mill has to pull your yarn out of a warehouse gives you no information about their operation. Send these 5 items at least 10 business days ahead:

The fiber specification you intend to source (average diameter, down content, test method). This tells the mill what sorting line to have running.
Two or three physical yarn samples of the quality you are evaluating — ideally from a mill you currently work with, so the comparison is against a known baseline rather than against their own claim.
Your AQL standard and defect classification so they can pull goods matching your spec rather than their standard line.
A list of the specific certifications you require, so they can produce the actual certificates rather than the ones they happen to hold.
Named dates and arrival time, plus who is coming and in what capacity (buyer, QC, or buyer’s engineer). A mill treats a buyer’s engineer very differently from a buyer’s purchasing manager.

If the mill cannot accommodate a visit 2 weeks out with the right yarn on the floor, that is itself a finding worth noting before you go.

On the floor: the 10 things, in order

Walk the process in the order the fiber moves. This way you see each stage with the downstream stage still in view, and you can check whether the output of one stage matches the input of the next.

1. The raw fiber warehouse

Ask where the fiber came from and how it was bought. Look for segregation — different lots should be physically separated and labeled with their source and micron band. A cashmere facility with no segregation in the raw warehouse is a facility that blends lots and re-tests later, which is a different product than what you are buying.

Look at the fiber itself: cashmere has a natural luster and a very fine hand. Pull a handful from a lot bin and rub it between finger and thumb. Guard hair should be visible as coarser, shinier strands. If everything looks uniform, ask what the lot’s down content is and watch whether the answer comes from a lab or from memory.

2. The sorting line

This is the single most important room in the facility. Cashmere sorting is where the price is decided, and it is the stage most often relabeled rather than performed.

What to watch:

Is the machine running? A sorting line that is idle during your visit is a line that is run occasionally for tours and small orders.
What is the feed rate relative to output? If the line processes 50 kg/hour and the facility claims 1,200 tons annual capacity, the line runs 8 hours a day for 300 days — check whether there are enough lines for that number.
Is there a second pass? Real cashmere sorting runs material through two or three passes to reach 14.5μm. A single pass from raw fiber rarely gets there.
Where does the reject go? Sorted-out coarse fiber should leave the line. If it accumulates next to the machine, the pass count is lower than claimed.

3. The combing hall

Cashmere combing runs on a small number of specialized machines (typically a Riestri or a Truttrich, or their Chinese equivalents). Look at:

Machine count and age. These machines last 30+ years. A facility with a mix of very old and brand-new machines is normal; a facility with only very old machines may be struggling with throughput.
The loading rate on each machine. Underspecified combing is what produces most of the length variation and neps that show up in the spinning stage.
Whether the machine is stopped mid-run for setup. A comb that is stopped while an operator changes a roller is a comb running conservatively.

4. The spinning hall

Here the count and gauge are set. Look at:

Whether the count is being monitored at the machine. Count variation of ±5% on a 2/26 Nm yarn is normal process variation; ±12% is a quality problem that will show up as breakage at the customer.
The roving creel. Cashmere roving breaks easily. A creel running with frequent stops suggests the combing stage is not feeding consistently, which traces back to the sorting.
Twist direction and setting. Ask to see the twist test being run, not just the setting on the machine.

5. The lab

This is where a cashmere mill either is or is not. Look for:

A working micronometer and airflow-permeability tester. A wall certificate without instruments on the bench means the mill subcontracts the testing, which is fine — but you want to know, because a subcontracted test is not a mill’s own quality control.
The fiber diameter measurement procedure sheet, posted or on the desk. A documented ISO 18135 procedure with a stated sample size (usually a 30,000-fiber count) tells you the readings are real.
A retention sample library. Mills that keep fiber and yarn samples from every lot for 3-5 years can resolve a quality dispute two years later. Mills that do not cannot.
The down content test setup. Down content (as opposed to average diameter) requires either a microscopy count or a chemical treatment. If the lab has one, they do the test properly.

6. Dyeing

For piece-dyed yarn this is where color consistency is decided. Look at:

Dye house temperature and humidity control. Cashmere dyes at 55-60°C; a dye house without temperature logging will produce shade variation batch to batch.
The spectrophotometer and whether it is used for production decisions or only for certificates.
Whether lab dips from your colorway are on file — if you sent Pantone references two weeks ago, the lab dips should exist.

7. The winding and packing area

Winding is where the skein weight and the yarn count actually get fixed.

Are skeins weighed and recorded individually? Cashmere yarn in a cone or hank is sold by weight; a mill that winds to a nominal weight without weighing is selling you a variable.
Is the cone label information complete? Cone label should carry: lot number, count, colorway, net weight, micron band, and the OEKO-TEX or GCS certificate number. An incomplete cone label is the most reliable predictor of a traceability problem later.

8. The finished goods warehouse

Ask to see goods from at least two previous orders that you did not place. Check whether they are still identifiable — labeled, separated, and with the paperwork. A mill that cannot find last year’s goods in 12 months is a mill that will not be able to answer a quality claim in 12 months.

9. The maintenance shop

Small detail, high signal. A cashmere facility where the maintenance shop is staffed, the machines have documented service intervals, and there are spare parts on the shelf is a facility that will be able to hit your delivery date. A facility with no maintenance records has a delivery-date risk you cannot see from the outside.

10. The office records, not the office

Ask to see, in the last 12 months: the test certificates that were actually issued, the inspection reports from third-party inspectors, and the production records for one lot you care about. You are asking whether the documents in the office match the documentation on the floor. A mill with an immaculate office and no matching floor records is worse than one with a modest office and real records.

The four questions that reveal whether a mill sorts or relabels

1. “What is your reject rate at the first sorting pass for 14.5-15.5μm target?”

A mill that sorts has a reject rate — typically 15-30% of raw fiber weight for a 14.5μm target, because most cashmere fiber is coarser than 14.5μm. A mill that relabels will give you a number without hesitation, and it will be low. Follow up: “show me the last three batches’ reject weights against the input weights.”

2. “Which sorting machine model and what is its rated throughput per hour?”

Specific machine model and a rated number. Vague answers here mean the sorting capability is being subcontracted.

3. “Can I see a raw lot that failed the first pass and where it went?”

This is a direct test. If the mill sorts, the answer is a physical location and a process — the rejected fiber goes to a coarser count program or to the wool-blend line. If the mill relabels, the answer will be delayed or will be “we have no rejects.”

4. “Who runs your lab tests — your own staff or a third-party lab?”

Either answer is acceptable. What matters is whether the mill knows which and is honest about it, and whether the certificates name the actual testing laboratory.

Cashmere-specific red flags that are not red flags elsewhere

These four are specific to this fiber and would not concern you in a cotton or polyester audit:

1. Uniform fiber in the raw warehouse with no lot segregation. In any other fiber this is normal blending. In cashmere it means the sorting claim is unverified.

2. Combing machines stopped during your visit. A cotton or polyester combing line runs differently; a cashmere comb is a slow, deliberate machine and stopping it is a scheduling choice, not a fault. A stopped comb during a tour means the line is not in production.

3. No moisture conditioning area. Cashmere absorbs moisture readily and must be conditioned before winding to the correct twist. A facility that winds fiber straight from the comb without conditioning will have a twist variance problem that shows up at the customer as a fabric that changes dimension after the first wash.

4. Retention samples kept for less than 12 months. Any mill can argue about quality for 6 months. Beyond 12 months, the argument has to be settled by records or it cannot be settled at all.

Time and cost

A properly prepared visit at a cashmere mill takes 1.5-2 days on site plus 2-3 days travel from most European or North American hubs. The costs that surprise first-time buyers:

Travel and visa: $2,000-4,000 per person from Europe, $4,000-7,000 from North America
A third-party QC person accompanying you: $800-1,500 per day
Interpretation (if you do not read Mandarin): $150-300 per day

Against a first order of $40,000-150,000, this is 3-8% of order value. Against a repeat order cycle where a supplier dispute costs 20-40% of order value in claims and re-orders, it is cheap.