With misplaced optimism, the Garment Association of Nepal is building itself a brand new headquarters in Kathmandu. By the time it is finished, however, there may be hardly anyone left to represent. The pashmina bubble that buoyed the garment industry in the late 1990s has burst. Fashion editors have moved on, leaving a glut of cheap Chinese knock-offs in their wake.

?Chinese pashminas feel silky, rather than woolly like the real Nepali ones [made from the underbelly hair of Himalayan goats], but we sell them as Nepali because that?s what people want,? says Supriya Gurung of Pashmina Industries, who runs a shop near the Royal Palace. Her Chinese pashminas all have Made in Nepal labels and she has laid off 50 workers at her factory in Kathmandu this year.