Boll & Branch mastered ethical cotton. Now it’s taking on cashmere

FastCompany: For centuries, cashmere was a fabric so rare that Persian merchants dubbed it “soft gold.” Mughal emperors and European aristocrats gave them as gifts to one another. It was sourced from Himalayan goats that needed delicate undercoats to survive freezing, high-altitude climates—then hand-combed by herders and spun into prized shawls. Today, however, the “fiber of kings” has undergone a massive industrial shift. What was once a prized heirloom piece has been democratized into $45 Walmart sweaters and $130 Quince throw blankets . But the plummeting price tag of modern cashmere comes with hidden costs, from overgrazing to the abuse of goats.

[Photo: Boll & Branch] Now Boll & Branch—a brand built on pioneering ethical supply chains—is setting out to redefine what luxury cashmere should look like. The direct-to-consumer pioneer has launched a cashmere blanket, making it among the first home brands in the world to be certified by the Good Cashmere Standard. Boll & Branch is targeting a luxury consumer with this blanket, pricing it at $999. But having built a cult following around its $300 organic sheets and $700 ultra-premium Reserve Collection, the brand believes there is a market of consumers who care just as much about the origins of their home goods as their quality.

Boll & Branch debuted in 2014 during the height of the DTC boom. Founders Missy and Scott Tannen launched the business when they learned that the global cotton supply chain is rife with forced labor and toxic pesticides that run into the groundwater. They wanted to see if they could develop a more ethical bedsheet, so they bypassed cotton brokers and went directly to organic cotton farms in India. The Tannens found Fair Trade factories and ordered a few hundred sheets they were hoping to sell over the next year and a half.

But that order sold out in 24 hours—suggesting that some customers would pay a premium not just for quality, but also for responsible sourcing. In 2024, Boll & Branch undertook an ambitious project : to make every product in its supply chain traceable. When you type a product code into the brand’s website, you can learn exactly where the cotton was grown and where in the world it was shipped to be milled and turned into sheets. But over the years, the Tannens have come to realize that ethics alone don’t sell a product. Consumers might feel good about a brand’s values, but they spend money on aesthetics, hand feel, and quality.

To win over buyers, Missy—the brand’s chief designer—has focused heavily on design, creating every pattern in-house, perfecting custom weaves, and holding products to rigorous inspection standards. “Customers just want a beautiful product,” she says. [Photo: Boll & Branch] This commitment to craftsmanship caught the eye of prominent private equity investors, including L Catterton and later the Carlyle Group, which poured $100 million into the company. This funding has fueled the brand’s expansion into 15 brick-and-mortar stores and a shop-within-shop model at 100 Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom locations.

Having mastered organic cotton, Boll & Branch is now turning its attention to animal fibers. It has recently brought wool into its collection with merino wool blankets, but it wanted to develop something higher end with this cashmere throw. As Missy began learning about how cashmere is made, she discovered that the spike in demand for cashmere over the last decade has led to exploitation across the supply chain. To harvest their wool at scale, farmers often subject goats to painful combing using sharp metal tools that tear their skin.

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Boll & Branch's innovative approach to ethical cashmere addresses a significant trend in luxury branding, making it highly relevant and impactful for brand strategy professionals focused on sustainability.