Shawls have been in existence in India as a warm protective garment since ancient times. Mughal emperor Akbar the great, encouraged weavers in Kashmir to try new motifs, which helped establish a successful shawl industry.

Though a small component of the entire textile industry, wool textiles is a rapidly growing sector.

India consumes nearly 103 million kg of wool at the industry level, out of which apparel sector accounts for 32 per cent. The non-apparel sector has a much bigger share of 68 per cent. The product range in apparel sector includes tops, worsted yarn, fabrics, knitwear and shawls. The raw materials for the wool industry is mainly imported from Australia. In spite of serious climatic limitations, India is a big producer of wool textile and now is the third largest consumer of Australian wool in the world.

Kashmir in India is world famous for its exclusive and fine quality Pashmina shawls. The intricately embroidered and soft Pashmina shawls from Kashmir are exported all across the globe.

Besides Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Nagaland are some other important regions in India producing superior quality shawls.

Due to unstable and high price of Australian wool, the ever loyal shawl industry is venturing into non wool shawl production in India. The condition has led to changes at the manufacturing, retail and consuming end, making the whole shawl making business more difficult in India.

After reaching its peak, the shawl industry in India is now experiencing a decline in export following the classical fashion lifecycle syndrome.