How to Distinguish Authentic Pashmina
Those fake pashmina shawls are usually made of acrylic (a kind of synthetic fiber). Be a smarter Shopper! Because it's wool, the first things you can do is dampen it slightly and smell it. It will smell a little like a wet animal! (But not unpleasant) Wool always has that smell when wet. But the ultimate test is to burn it. When wool burns, it smells like hair burning. And what is left is just ash, and comes off easily. If a fabric has synthetic in it, it has a slightly chemical smell. But the true sign is that when you blow out the flame, there is a little hard 'bead' left, which stays attached to the fabric. Just burn the end of one of the fringes, and you will be able to tell
