I wore it for 6 days straight: A Naadam Cashmere Sweater Review

By now, you may have heard about Naadam and their cashmere.

In case you haven’t, basically their whole “thing” is basically being mindful of social impact and the environment.

In that respect, Naadam’s kind of like Reformation… but with a specialization in cashmere.

They do a ton of volunteer work and even more work to make sure that their herders’ goats are taken care of… not to mention “Naadam Park,” which aims to plant 12,000 trees.

Then there’s their process of factory conditions (all good), dye process (natural & biodegradable), and spinning practices.

With so much good work, it’s only actually good work though if their cashmere is actually good too.

So, is it? Let’s investigate…

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Naadam Cashmere Sweater Sizing

For reference, I’m 5’5.75” and weigh 115-117 lbs.

For comparison, here are some sizes I normally take:
-US 2, in HVN or Reformation
-Small, in T-Shirts
-UK 6-10, in ALEXACHUNG or RAEY
-FR 34-38, in Isabel Marant or Rouje
… and, generally, a size small in Naadam “The Original” Women’s Sweater, in white, is a size small.

Shown with a black bra for opacity purposes.

“White” is more of an “warm-white-verging-on-cream” than “optic white” irl — but that’s exactly what I wanted.

Naadam’s Original sweater used to be unisex, but now they have redone the fit so that it’s more suitable to men or women.

It fits true to size now, so no need to size up or down.

As a non-cropped sweater, it is the perfect length for low-rise jeans or for tucking into high-waisted denim.

Meanwhile, for my c.2019 Naadam sweater…

My Naadam Cropped Crew Cashmere sweater is a size small.
(Note: It’s since discontinued, but they have a slightly similar cropped one here.)

Across the shoulders is a little smaller than I’d normally like, but the fit is (otherwise) perfect.

The sleeves come to the middle-ish of my wrist and pinky finger.

The body is cropped and works well with my high waisted Re/Done jeans.

… and the cashmere is ridiculously soft.

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Naadam Cashmere Quality

Let’s put Naadam’s Original Sweater to a middle school “scientific lab report” test!

Before we dive in, the evaluations in this challenge are based on my research that’s been compiled into this guide to quality cashmere.

You can find other Cashmere Challenges here.

Note: This is just my experience, yours could differ.

Hypothesis
Out of curiosity, I reached out to Naadam’s customer support to ask what the ply is like for this sweater.

Naadam’s “Original” sweater (the one that used to be $75, but is now $98 — thanks, inflation!) is 1 ply.

1 ply generally means it won’t be as warm, but the quality of those plies really lies in if it will pill or not.

This sweater is still, surprisingly, quite soft right out of the gate.

Taking the ply count into consideration, it makes sense that it’s transparent if you wear a black bra or a black t-shirt with white writing underneath it… and, oh yeah, because it’s a light (white) colour.

For this test, I’m a little bit of an optimist since the first Naadam cashmere sweater I tested in 2019 was so good.

I’ll hypothesize that Naadam’s Original Sweater (previously called “The Essential” sweater) will be totally fine save for some pilling.

Materials
-x1 Naadam Original Sweater

Method
a- Sweater is to be worn for at least seven days between 10:00am to 6:00pm.

b- Sweater will be worn against another textile for three of those hours. 
(Pilling occurs when two materials rub against each other, so this is part of the experiment.)

c- Sweater must be washed according to manufacturer’s instructions once.

Results
Currently, I’m on the market for a desk and am working from a folding table that has a Parachute linen table cloth on top of it, so there is more pilling on the elbow and wrists (since those are constantly rubbing against the table cloth).

… so, this sweater got extra pills in the wrist area.

In the normal wear sections, like on the underside of the sleeves, there are hardly any pills to write home about.

… and they aren’t the nasty sort of pills that really pop out.

They all easily came off with a cashmere comb.

Then there’s the warmth…

My husband keeps our house at, like, 68°F/20°C, and I get cold easily.

Although I need to wear a t-shirt underneath, this sweater does a good job at keeping me warm.

On delicate, with Tide Free & Gentle detergent, Naadam’s Original Sweater also washed (and air dryed) totally fine.

It takes a wear or two to return to its fluffy state, but it sure does beat dry cleaning it!

Conclusion
I’ve always thought that Neiman Marcus’ cashmere was the #1 affordable cashmere producer.

… but, it isn’t.

While there were slightly more pills, for the price Naadam’s Original sweater is just as good and even more affordable.

… and if you’re curious here’s the “scientific” lab report for the now-discontinued Naadam Cropped Crew sweater, from 2019

Hypothesis
Shopbop states, “crafted in soft cashmere and finished with a classic crew neckline, this Naadam sweater is the perfect, all-seasons style to get cozy with.”

This sweater feels like it’s above 2 ply (I don’t know if it actually is) — which means it is so soft and feels sooo luxurious.

I’ll hypothesize that Naadam’s cashmere sweater will pill like crazy though because of how soft it is.

Materials
-x1 Naadam cropped cashmere sweater (since discontinued, but similar one here)
-x1 Pair of denim dungarees

Method
a- Sweater is to be worn for five days between 10:00am to 6:00pm.

b- Sweater will be worn with denim dungarees between those hours.
(Pilling occurs when two materials rub against each other, so this is part of the experiment.)
Provision: Outfit can be changed if I go out. Panamá has an average temperature of 30°C — this is a pseudo-scientific experiment, not a torture test.

Results
Every time I passed a clothed surface, I’d rub my sweater on it in an effort to make it pill.

When I watched TV? You know I laid out on the carpet.

By the end of binging The Politician, there were only three pills on the sleeves.

Those minimal pills easily brushed off with Laundress’ cashmere brush. I wouldn’t recommend this brush if a sweater has a lot of pills, but for one or two (or three) it works.

Conclusion
Basically (and obviously), we saw that Naadam’s cashmere lived up to being durable and having minimal pilling.

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Pros & Cons

Pros
–Luxurious feel
–Super minimal pilling
–Quality: It passed the “cashmere challenge.”
–Super soft: Right away you’re like, “omg, this is so soft.”
–More environmentally friendly: Naadam does a ton of work to make sure that their social impact and environmental impact is better than most cashmere companies.

Cons
–Returns aren’t free: If you order from Naadam directly, you will be charged for returns.

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Four years after this review was first posted, I still wanted to prove Naadam’s “we make really good cashmere” claim wrong.

As it turns out, I am still the one who was wrong.

It’s warm, luxurious… and most importantly, it’s quality.

You can order Naadam cashmere direct from the source starting at $98 USD or, at one of Naadam’s brick & mortar stores.

For free returns, you can also shop Naadam cashmere at Nordstrom and Shopbop, among other retailers.

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