What Is Mohair?

How is mohair made?

Mohair is made by shearing Angora goats, washing the raw fleece, straightening the fibres and spinning them into yarn. South African farmers shear twice a year, in March or April and in August or September, according to the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC).

NAMC sets out the route:

• Classing: the clip is sorted into grades (see below).
• Scouring: washing removes natural grease and soil; the mohair loses about 20% of its weight.
• Carding: the fibres are straightened into a web or sliver.
• Combing: short fibres (noils) are removed and the long fibres laid parallel, giving a thick strand called a top.
• Spinning: the woollen system spins shorter fibres into bulkier yarn for blankets, coatings, scarves, hand knitting and carpets. The worsted system spins combed tops into a sleeker, smoother yarn for suiting, soft apparel and knitwear.

Where mohair comes from

The Angora goat is named after the Ankara (Angora) region of Turkey, though the Discover Natural Fibres Initiative (DNFI) says the breed is thought to have originated in Tibet. Turkey was the centre of mohair textile production before the goat was introduced to southern Africa and the USA in the 19th century. In South Africa, NAMC records that the Mosenthal family first imported Angora goats from Turkey in 1838.

DNFI estimates world output at around 5,000 tonnes a year. Estimates of South Africa’s share differ: DNFI gives 60%, while Bloomberg News reported about 50% in 2018.

What are the properties of mohair?

Mohair is light, insulating, strong and lustrous, and smoother than sheep’s wool:

• Lustre: light reflected from the fibre surface gives mohair its characteristic sheen (DNFI).
• Smoothness: like wool, mohair has surface scales, but they are thinner, so it feels smooth (DNFI).
• Strength: its tensile strength is significantly higher than that of merino wool (DNFI).
• Shape retention: NAMC credits mohair’s natural elasticity with helping garments hold their shape, and rates it one of the most durable natural fibres.
• Moisture: the fibre absorbs and releases moisture (NAMC).
• Colour: NAMC says mohair takes dye well and keeps even brilliant colours over time.

The last three are industry claims, not independent test results.

How is mohair graded?

Mohair is graded by fibre diameter in microns, together with length, style and character, and the fibre coarsens as the goat ages. DNFI gives a range from 23 microns at first shearing to 38 microns in older animals. South African classing, as set out by NAMC, uses these grades:

The age classes behind the names are kid (up to 12 months), young goat (up to 18 months) and adult goat (after 24 months). Graders also judge contamination, clean yield and uniformity.

For comparison, under US rules cashmere must average 19 microns or less, while the finest South African mohair grade is defined as under 26 microns.

How does mohair appear on a clothing label?

On a label, mohair is named as a fibre with its percentage; the US and the EU differ on when it may be called wool.

Under US rules

• 16 CFR 300.19, under the Wool Products Labeling Act, lets “mohair” be used in place of “wool” for Angora goat hair, provided each such fibre’s percentage is stated, as in “50% mohair-50% wool”. Recycled fibre must be qualified as “recycled”.
• Words or symbols suggesting mohair may not appear in other label text, or on secondary labels, unless mohair is named in the required fibre-content statement.

Under EU rules

• Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 lists “mohair” among the animal hairs, alongside alpaca, cashmere, vicuña and others, “followed or not by the word ‘wool’ or ‘hair’”.
• The EU name “wool” also covers a mixture of sheep’s or lambs’ wool with those animal hairs, so a blend of wool and mohair may be labelled simply as wool. Pure mohair may be called “mohair wool”, but not just “wool”.
• “Angora” is a separate name: the entry lists hair of the angora goat and of the angora rabbit, matching the names mohair and angora (see table).

What the percentage tells you

The percentage is the only reliable guide to how much of a yarn is mohair; NAMC notes that spinners blend mohair with other fibres to enhance attributes and manage cost. Texture names such as bouclé describe a yarn’s structure, not its fibre; only the fibre-content line tells you whether mohair is present.

How do you tell good mohair from poor mohair?

Good mohair shows a clear sheen, feels smooth and has a label naming mohair and its percentage. Check:

1. Read the fibre line first. Find the word “mohair” and its percentage (on a US label, mohair may also appear as “wool”). In the US, a garment may not suggest mohair in its other label text unless mohair appears in that fibre statement. If the line lists only acrylic or another synthetic, the garment contains no declared mohair, however fluffy it looks.
2. Treat “kid mohair” as a grade, not a guarantee. Neither 16 CFR 300.19 nor the EU fibre-name list defines it, so if the claim drives the price, ask the maker for the micron grade.
3. Tilt it under a light. Mohair’s lustre comes from light reflecting off the fibre surface.
4. Feel it against wool. Mohair’s thinner scales make it smooth to the touch. Run it and a plain wool jumper across the inside of your wrist and compare.
5. Crush a corner of suiting cloth. For woven mohair, as used in a three-piece suit, squeeze a corner in your fist and let go; the elasticity NAMC credits with helping garments hold their shape should let it recover.

Red flags: “mohair” in a product name with no mohair in the fibre line; “angora” offered as if it were mohair (in the EU list, angora covers rabbit hair); and “kid mohair” claimed with no stated percentage.

How do you care for mohair?

Follow the garment’s own care label first, because blends vary; otherwise hand wash mohair in lukewarm water or have it dry cleaned, as Mohair South Africa, the industry body, advises:

• Hand washing: lukewarm water with a mild wool detergent or shampoo, gentle agitation, a cool rinse, and press the water out without wringing.
• Machine washing: only in a front-loader on a wool or delicate cycle, at 30 °C or below, with no spin.
• Dry cleaning: mohair can be cleaned by a reputable dry cleaner, and mohair suiting and other fine worsted cloth will recommend dry cleaning on the care label.
• Drying: hang or lay flat; never tumble dry. Once dry, shake the garment briskly or ease it with gentle strokes of a stiff hairbrush to restore the pile.
• Storage: fold knitwear onto a shelf rather than hanging it, somewhere cool and dry and out of plastic.

Is mohair sustainable?

Mohair is shorn from living goats twice a year, but whether a given garment was responsibly produced depends on the farms behind it, and the industry has faced serious animal-welfare criticism.

In May 2018, Bloomberg News reported that the animal-rights group PETA had released video from twelve Angora goat farms in South Africa’s Karoo region, showing goats dragged by the legs or horns and injured during shearing. Almost 70 companies, including H&M and Inditex, said they would stop using mohair. Mohair South Africa said it would immediately suspend mohair from the farms shown, and that it considered much of the report incorrect.

Textile Exchange’s Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) is a voluntary standard; RMS 1.0 was released on 17 March 2020. It assesses farms on animal welfare, land management and social conditions, and requires every site from farm to the final business-to-business seller to be certified, though it is not designed to give full supply-chain transparency. As of 2026, the RMS is being folded into Textile Exchange’s Materials Matter Standard, which takes effect on 31 December 2026 and becomes mandatory on 31 December 2027.

For a buyer, an RMS claim signals mohair from audited farms. Without one, ask the maker which farms supplied the mohair, the same supply-chain question that applies across sustainable fashion.