CocoonU cashmere was originally inspired by the combination of lifestyle and beliefs of the nomadic herders in Outer Mongolia. Sourcing from this environment using sustainable and ethical practices has enabled CocoonU to produce a 100% cashmere and a lighter silk and cotton mix range; all with unrivalled softness, timeless designs and for all seasons.

The new 100% organic bath and body products use the finest natural ingredients with the purest of essential oils, locally sourced goat’s milk and honey all lovingly handmade in the UK

Our eco-friendly jewellery is all sourced from ethical, fair-trade and eco designers from around the world.  Whether you are seeking something unique and original, sleek and contemporary, classic and sophisticated, or traditional with a modern twist, we have an exciting range of stylish and affordable pieces to see you through not only this season, but the next and beyond. It’s jewellery that’s pleasurable to wear, beautiful to look at and designed to be as individual as you.

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Its beautiful landscape varies depending in which part of the country you are. High mountains, lakes, forests and Gobi desert breathtakingly blend with its nomads peacefully grazing their animals, horses, camels, sheep, goats and cows, in the wide open spaces.

Mongolia’s nomadic lifestyle has not been influenced much despite Russian control for over 70 years right before democracy, which began in 1990. A strong Russian influence to change its culture began in 1921 destroying over 700 monasteries and killing thousands monks and intelligent Mongolians.

Democracy arrived in the early 1990’s helped to slowly recover what people lost during communism. Today Mongolia is progressively changing under a free market economy and absorbing many of new developments of globalization.

Mongolia has so much natural resources, minerals and gems stones, which our ancestors have not touched. In a Market economy where everyone chases after money the country’s natural resources are the target for making money and selfishness and greediness of private businessmen to use for their personal benefit does not help the economy to grow but negatively impacts on nature and environment. Private companies and hand mining of desperate people destroy land, rivers and trees due to lack of consciousness and commitment to invest back into nature.

The strongest religion in Mongolia is Buddhism; it was introduced in 1300 century by Chingis Khaan’s grandson Kublai Khan. A highly intelligent King who invited a senior ranking monk from Tibet to gain spiritual guidance while he was ruling the Mongolian dynasty from Beijing. Since then Buddhism has played a significant role in the country and people, from generation to generation it was carried solemnly as a part of daily life and culture.

Soldiers who had previously invaded countries on horseback with weapons in hand totally changed in order to bring peace in earth and became monks with beads in their hand, trying to restore peace by enlightening people’s minds free from suffering.

Buddhism which forcibly died down during socialism under Russian control has quickly revived since democracy took place. The temples have been restored and new ones built and the number of Buddhist practitioners increased. Births, deaths, weddings, starting new business, lunar year celebration, etc in fact every event involves religion and rituals, which are becoming more of a necessity to ensure proper practicing of religion. Mongolia does not discriminate over the people’s right to choose their faith and religion and there are all kinds of religion exist, but 90% of population practices Buddhism.

A political stability and tolerance towards other religions and less violence between ethnic groups compared to some other nations is a reflection of the Buddhist philosophy to love every human being equally.

Rural areas are least inflicted in any external change, therefore they carry the values of culture and religion which xisted hundreds of years ago. Slow reaction to the modern society is related to remoteness, small population and underdevelopment of infrastructure. The contrast between city life and countryside is becoming increasingly apparent, it is not clear to anyone yet what kind of future lies there with the migration of rural inhabitants to the capital city of Mongolia, where people seek for jobs, better education and medical service.

CocoonU was inspired by the combination of lifestyle and beliefs of the nomadic herders who live in Outer Mongolia. Their simplistic, mutually supportive life has given us the opportunity to create the most stunning collection of 100% cashmere knitted and woven throws, cushion covers and blankets, using sustainable, eco and ethical practices.

View our cashmere collections at www.cocoonu.com

According to a recent report from the Cooperative bank, ethical consumerism is now worth £29.3bn a year*.

Luxury brands in the past have been associated with questionable environmental practices but one company proving that luxury items can also be sound green purchases is www.cocoonu.com – the new source for the highest quality cashmere products, made from 100% cashmere from Outer Mongolia.

The raw fibres for CocoonU products are supplied by nomadic goat herders in Outer Mongolia where the extreme winter climate makes for a longer and finer hair than from other sources. By combing rather than shearing the animals the yarn used by CocoonU is simply unbeatable for softness and durability.

The fibres are processed and items are manufactured to CocoonU designs in a co-operative factory in Mongolia – all resulting in superb quality materials and finished products.

Founder of CocoonU Vanessa Streeton, comments, “Supporting this centuries old way of life is a hugely satisfying aspect of the business given that much of the High Street cashmere on sale in the UK is sourced from huge operations in China. This not only fails to deliver the high quality of CocoonU cashmere, but also introduces an ethical trading dilemma for buyers.

“As the price of cashmere on the high street plummets and consumers bag a bargain we do have to ask the question, what price is the environment paying? By sourcing from Nomadic herders from a Buddhist democracy we have avoided having to deal with unethical or inhumane working practices across the border in China.”

“Not only do our products bring the buyer the absolute best quality cashmere but they will outlast mass-produced high street items. I believe that investing in quality is a great fight-back against the throw-away mentality. Consumers seeking the most luxurious product can still have a positive ethical and environmental impact with a CocoonU purchase.”

CocoonU’s commitment to the environment also extends to its packaging. Instead of using fancy but ultimately pointless packaging all CocoonU products are delivered to customers in cotton drawstring bags. This not only saves on waste but also optimises storage for the lifetime of the product.

CocoonU offers a range of products from interiors to fashion – shawls and throws to socks and jumpers for both men and women.
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Notes To Editors

Outer Mongolia & Cashmere

Outer Mongolia is the world’s second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan. Its capital and largest city is Ulan Bator (Ulaanbaatar).

At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Outer Mongolia is the nineteenth largest, and the least densely populated independent country in the world. The country contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country’s 2.8 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. The predominant religion in Outer Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state’s citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Buriats, Kazakhs and Tuvans also live in the country, especially in the west. About 38% of the population lives in Ulan Bator.

The Mongolian heartland consists of relatively flat steppes. The southern portion of the country is taken up by the Gobi Desert, while the northern and western portions are mountainous. The highest point in Outer Mongolia is the Khuiten in the Tavan bogd massif in the far west at 4,374 m (14,350 feet). The basin of the lake Uvs Nuur, shared with Tuva Republic in Russia, is a natural World Heritage Site.

Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as -30°C (-22°F). The country is also subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as zud. Ulaanbaatar has the coldest average temperature of any national capital in the world.

Landscape
Outer Mongolia is high, cold, and windy. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most of its annual precipitation falls. The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the centre of a region of high atmospheric pressure. Precipitation is highest in the north (average of 20 to 35 centimetres per year) and lowest in the south, which receives 10 to 20 centimetres annually. The extreme south is the Gobi, some regions of which receive no precipitation at all in most years.
The name “Gobi” is a Mongol term for a desert steppe, which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support marmots but with enough to support camels. Mongols distinguish Gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape. Gobi rangelands are fragile and are easily destroyed by overgrazing, which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even Bactrian camels can survive.

Cashmere is characterized by its luxuriously soft fibres. In order for a natural goat fibre to be considered Cashmere, it must be under 18.5 micrometers in diameter and be at least 3.175 centimetres long. It is noted as providing natural light-weight insulation without bulk. Fibres are highly adaptable and are easily constructed into fine or thick yarns, and light to heavy-weight fabrics.

The fibres used by CocoonU are 14-15.5 microns thick and up to 5cm long – this makes them exceptionally soft and also less prone to pilling than shorter thicker fibres.

Cashmere is appropriate for all climates; high moisture content allows insulation properties to change with the relative humidity in the air. It is a misconception that the finest fibres are harvested from the neck and belly of the goat as these are generally the dirtiest part of the animal and most subject to collecting debris. The finest fibres are gathered from the saddle of the Cashmere goat; most of the cashmere comes off of the sides and back of the goat’s body from the shoulder to the rump. If the goat is shorn, the fibre must be “de-haired” to remove the coarse, unusable guard hair. Sometimes the fine fibres are collected by combing the goat; either method is time consuming and tedious, thus the high cost of cashmere.