By Hayk Sahakyan

On the vast grasslands of Ordos, in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, a remarkable textile industry begins with an animal that is smaller and less imposing than the finished products it helps create: the cashmere goat.

For decades, the Erdos Group has built its business around this exceptionally fine natural fiber, connecting local herders and specialized goat breeds with spinning mills, textile factories and fashion brands. Today, Ordos is regarded as one of the world's most important centers for high-quality cashmere production, with the Erdos Group among the companies that helped turn the region's raw material into a globally recognized textile industry.

Cashmere is not ordinary sheep's wool. It is the extremely fine, soft undercoat that grows beneath the coarse outer hair of certain goats. The fibers are collected after the animals naturally shed their winter undercoat, then separated from the longer guard hairs, cleaned, sorted and spun into yarn.

Inner Mongolia is particularly important because its harsh, dry continental climate favors cashmere-producing goats. Moreover, these are not ordinary goats. They belong to a special breed found only in this region and are renowned for producing exceptionally fine, high-quality wool. This is why they are known as Cashmere goats.

Ordos, located on the Ordos Plateau, has developed an extensive breeding and processing industry around these animals. In 2025, Ordos was reported to have more than 6.9 million cashmere goats, producing more than 3,500 metric tons of raw cashmere annually—about 25 percent of China's production and roughly 15 percent of global output. The city has subsequently become known as China's "Cashmere Capital."

The industrial story goes back more than half a century. Ordos' first cashmere sweater factory was established in 1969, eventually becoming the foundation for what would develop into the Erdos Group's cashmere business. The company has since built capabilities across the supply chain, from raw cashmere and yarn to finished sweaters, coats, scarves and other garments. Founded in 1980, ERDOS Cashmere Group currently maintains nearly thirty affiliates with about ten thousand employees, and assets worth of RMB fifteen billion.

China is the world's dominant cashmere producer, and Inner Mongolia is its most important production region. Ordos alone has become a major global center for both raw material and finished cashmere goods.