The mix of ordinary hairs and duvet, collected by the shepherds, is delivered to traders or taken to collection centres. The displacement brings together the small quantities that would otherwise be lost in the immense territory. They are usually located in major cities, often agglomerations of a few businesses or at a market where negotiations are concentrated on the exchange of the goods.
From the collection centres the product is packed and transported to the factories by means of old, Russian lorries where the process of refining begins.

Once at the factory the material is carefully selected by hand and having discarded the mediocre parts it is divided into piles depending upon colour and fineness. During this operation the inevitable contamination caused by the packing is removed.

Subsequently the selected fibre is dispatched to the opening where strong aspirators remove the residual earth, after which it is washed and the fats are removed. From there it is dried and is then ready for the dehairing process.
The dehairing is a mechanical procedure to separate the coarse hairs from the "duvet". These mechanical methods vary according to the constructor of the plant and the origins of the machinery. Often the machines are constructed, modified and personalised according to the know-how acquired by the operator, who is generally very particular about his own modifications and his shrewdness in improving the quality and return.

The hourly production of these machines is extremely low and varies according to the productive system from 1 to 4 kilos per hour.
The principle of dehairing is very simple but to obtain a good product and a good return requires a correct evaluation of the characteristics of the material to be dehaired and good mechanical experience linked with the knowledge, and limits, of ones own machinery. The fibres are passed through numerous pairs of cylinders, typically in line with each other, and due to the difference in weight, the "giarre", or coarser fibres, fall leaving the duvet, which leaves the machine by means of a conveyor belt.

Some machines have a card, or comb, for the fibre, which is normally used in cotton manufacturing.

This machine is often the only solution to obtaining an effective cleaner for a cashmere laden with scurf, however at the expense of the loss of the fibre length.
This is due to the strong mechanical action that causes many breakages of the fibre.

A good lot of the cashmere originating from Inner or Outer Mongolia reduces to 50-60% prior to the dehairing and 60-70% afterwards.

This signifies that by hypothesising an average return of 200 grams per animal, the quantity would reduce to 100 to 120 grams prior to the dehairing and so 60 to 70 grams afterwards. Therefore 6 to 7 goats are needed to make enough cashmere for a jumper, 12 to 14 for a jacket and 25 to 30 for an overcoat.

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