The process of obtaining fine cashmere is difficult and time consuming. First, the material is typically combed out or pulled by hand from live goats, though in some areas it is sheared or obtained from butchered animals. The fiber must then undergo a thorough cleaning process to ensure that it does not contain any grease or debris. Perhaps the most important process that must be carried out, however, is the separation of the fine hairs from the coarse. Indeed, many producers of cashmere will not reveal how they actually complete this step, keeping it as a closely guarded secret because the ratio of fine hairs to coarse is what primarily determines the material’s grade and commercial value.