Getting started

A name gated on nineteen microns

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Cashmere is a federally defined term and the definition is physical Then a mean Then a tail And then a variance A coefficient of variation is the standard deviation over the mean Nothing else in this library is indexed on a measure of spread And it is the exact complement of the embroidery spine next door Mohair is handled in the same section and more simply With three worked examples in the text References

Four conditions on one word. Three of them are measurements.

Cashmere is a federally defined term and the definition is physical

The term may be used only if the fiber consists of the fine dehaired undercoat fibers produced by a cashmere goat, named in the rule as capra hircus laniger.

Then a mean

The average diameter of such cashmere fiber does not exceed 19 microns. A micron is a thousandth of a millimeter, so the rule is specifying a dimension no unaided eye can check.

Then a tail

The cashmere fibers in the product contain no more than 3 percent by weight of cashmere fibers with average diameters that exceed 30 microns. So the mean is not enough on its own; the coarse end of the distribution is capped separately.

And then a variance

The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent. Which is a statistical dispersion measure written into the Code of Federal Regulations.

A coefficient of variation is the standard deviation over the mean

It describes how spread out a distribution is relative to its center. Two batches can share a mean of 18 microns and only one of them satisfy this paragraph.

Nothing else in this library is indexed on a measure of spread

The other spines use a threshold, a proportion, an area, a volume, a temperature or a count. This one reaches for the shape of a distribution, which is a different kind of requirement altogether.

And it is the exact complement of the embroidery spine next door

Part 303 forbids naming a fiber that is under five percent of the total fiber weight. Part 300 permits naming a fiber only if it measures within a mean, a tail and a variance. Suppression by amount in one part, permission by measurement in the other.

Mohair is handled in the same section and more simply

The term may be used for the hair of the Angora goat in lieu of the word wool, provided the percentage of each such fiber is given, and qualified by the word recycled where the fiber is recycled wool.

With three worked examples in the text

50 percent mohair and 50 percent wool. 60 percent recycled mohair and 40 percent cashmere. 60 percent cotton and 40 percent recycled cashmere. The rule writes out the designations it will accept.

References

16 CFR 300.19(a): "In setting forth the required fiber content of a wool product, the term “cashmere” may be used for such fiber content only if: (i) Such fiber consists of the fine (dehaired) undercoat fibers produced by a cashmere goat (capra hircus laniger); (ii) The average diameter of such cashmere fiber does not exceed 19 microns; and (iii) The cashmere fibers in such wool product contain no more than 3 percent (by weight) of cashmere fibers with average diameters that exceed 30 microns. (2) The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent." law.cornell.edu

16 CFR 300.19(b) and (c). Paragraph (b) permits the term mohair or cashmere "in lieu of the word “wool,”" provided the respective percentage of each is given, and qualified by the word "recycled" where the fiber is recycled wool, giving as examples "50% mohair-50% wool", "60% recycled mohair-40% cashmere" and "60% cotton-40% recycled cashmere". Paragraph (c) provides that where the election is made the designation "shall be used at any time reference is made to such fiber in either required or nonrequired information", and that the term "or any words, coined words, symbols or depictions connoting or implying the presence of such fibers shall not be used in non-required information on the required label or on any secondary or auxiliary label attached to the wool product" where the term does not appear in the required disclosure. law.cornell.edu

Written from 16 CFR part 300 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Part 300 implements the Wool Products Labeling Act and governs the fiber content and origin label on wool products; it does not govern needles, markers or swatch tags, and nothing here says it does. The shipping weights quoted on the containers pages are quoted as evidence that the column is not usable, and no weight on these pages is offered as a fact about any container. This shelf is the store-small-dry shelf plus three rows, and the sewing notions property enumerates the shared part of it.