Move over cashmere, yak is the new luxe knitwear
YOU’VE MAYBE JUST got your head around a bag made of mushroom leather, but what about a yak sweater? Never say never. Because Carol Chyau, founder of Shokay, a sustainable and socially responsible textiles brand in Shanghai, is on a mission to bring the fibre into fashion.
In 2009, Carol was a finalist in the Cartier Women’s Initiative, a programme that awards prize money to female entrepreneurs whose businesses aim to solve global challenges (since 2006, it has supported 262 women from 62 countries with over $6m). Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March and to celebrate its 15th anniversary, Cartier gathered its community of changemakers in Dubai, bestowing one of its awards on Carol.
Speaking via video from Taipei, she talks about how much has happened over the past 15 years. ‘In 2009, I was 23/24 and just starting the business. Now, I’m a mum of triplets!’ Joining Cartier’s community – people who have founded similarly pioneering companies – was the first time she had been part of something that recognised female entrepreneurs. ‘It takes a lot of grit,’ she says about what they’ve all achieved. ‘When I hear other women talking about how they’ve had to juggle different priorities, there’s comfort in knowing you’re not alone.’
During graduate school at Harvard, Carol and a group of fellow students decided to travel to Western China, where they discovered a non-profit organisation making cheese using yaks. After reading a UN handbook that contained a line comparing yak fibre to cashmere, they embarked on something of a detective trail, trying to figure out, ‘But if it’s comparable to cashmere, why don’t we see it in the market?’ (The answer: unlike cashmere, which was used by royalty, yak was never part of traditional trade routes owing to 80% of the world’s yak population being located in remote Western China.) After piecing together a business plan and securing funding, they graduated, took the money and went back to China.
Shokay now has 20 staff and has created an industry for yak fibre, starting with the herders in Tibet. Bringing economic opportunities to the local community was vital. ‘A lot of supply chain partners were like, why build the cooperatives? For us, it was the whole reason why we existed.’ As the business has scaled, it now involves a new generation of young Tibetans. It has generated crucial income for them, but also, says Carol, ‘dignity, a sense of pride that something dear to them could connect to a supply chain that other people would also find special’.
Climate change and mindful consumption are now daily conversations in the industry, which is good news for Shokay. ‘Given that fashion now cares about sustainability a lot more, we’d like to expand our programmes to new brands. We’re already working with 4,000 families, but when more brands join, we can make that 8,000. That’s really the major goal: to grow the yak wool industry.’
Looking back on how much she’s accomplished, what advice would Carol give her younger self ? ‘If something strikes you, just go for it,’ she says, while also being realistic about the amount of time you’re able to give. ‘It really takes a lot of perseverance. It’s also about being able to set boundaries for yourself.’