Pashmina wool produced on the high altitudes of the Ladakh and Tibetan plateaus laid the foundation of the once coveted cashmere shawl industry. An exponential rise in the production of the fibre, led mainly by China’s increased production, altered the industry’s dynamics in the postcolonial era. Additionally, there were rising ecological concerns over large-scale rangeland degradation. The paper retraces the social, cultural, political, and ecological transformations across Tibet and eastern Ladakh, which historically have been the pre-eminent pashmina-producing areas of the region.