Customers ask us again and again what the material “yak” actually is. We would like to enlighten you today :)
Yak is a bovine species and is called yak due to the noises it makes.
The wild yak is under conservation since 1996 and lives in the Himalaya regions. You find them mainly around Central Asia where they’re used as farm animals for meat, milk, wool but also as pack and riding animals. Today there are even yak breeders in Germany.
The yak fur consists of three layers: the underwool which is used in the textile industry, the coarser transition layer and the tough cover hair. These layers protect the animals perfectly against the cold and allow them to live in altitudes of up to 6000m.
They get combed once a year which produces the underwool that is sued in the textile industry. One yak produces ca. 3kg wool of which only ca. 500 grams is fine enough for the clothing business. Coarser wool is processed to ropes, tents and home textiles such as upholstery covers or carpets. Due to the wool’s great insulation it is also used for pillows and blankets.
Properties:
- Fine fibres
- Doesn’t scratch
- Very good insulation
- Moisture regulating, can absorb up to 30% moisture
- Robust and light and the same time
