Once a luxury good, the soft fiber is now everywhere — which has led to a goat boom in Mongolia. Zachary Crockett tugs at the thread.

• SOURCES:
  • Myagmarjav Serjkhuu, manager of the Mongolian Sustainable Cashmere Platform for the United Nations Development Programme.
  • Carolyn Yim, designer and owner of Ply-Knits.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Sandstorms and Desertification in Mongolia, an Example of Future Climate Events: A Review," by Jie Han, Han Dai, and Zhaolin Gu (Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2021).
  • "How Sustainable Cashmere Is Reversing Land Degradation in Mongolia," by Mariana Simões (United Nations Development Programme, 2021).
  • "Exploding Demand for Cashmere Wool Is Ruining Mongolia's Grasslands," by Kathleen McLaughlin (Science, 2019).
  • "From H&M to Gucci, Fashion Rethinks Cashmere, Citing Environmental Harm," by Matthew Dalton (The Wall Street Journal, 2019).
  • "2018 Annual Cashmere Market Report," by Marco Spina (The Schneider Group, 2019).
  • "How This Brand Made a Cashmere Sweater for $75 Ethically," by Esha Chhabra (Forbes, 2018).
  • "Pastoral Nomadism in the Forest-Steppe of the Mongolian Altai Under a Changing Economy and a Warming Climate," by D. Lkhagvadorj, M. Hauck, Ch. Dulamsuren, and J. Tsogtbaatar (Journal of Arid Environments, 2013).

Behind almost every character you see displayed on a page or a screen, there’s a complex — and sometimes lucrative — web of licensing deals. Zachary Crockett is just your type.

• SOURCES:
  • Lucas Czarnecki, creative director of Type Network.
  • Gerry Leonidas, professor of typography at the University of Reading.
  • Chantra Malee, co-founder and C.E.O. of Sharp Type.
  • Lucas Sharp, professional font designer and co-founder of Sharp Type.

• RESOURCES:
  • "What Fonts Are Used by The New York Times?" by Nona Blackman (Envato Tuts+, 2024).
  • "Legendary Type Foundry Monotype Sold to Private Equity for $825 Million," by Suzanne LaBarre (Fast Company, 2019).
  • "Calibri’s Scandalous History," by Ross Arbes (The New Yorker, 2017).
  • "This Was The First Computer Font," by John Herrman (BuzzFeed News, 2012).
  • "Manuscripts and Special Collections," by the University of Nottingham.

• EXTRA:
  • "Are Our Tools Becoming Part of Us?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).

Americans throw away 320 million books every year. How do some of them find a second life? Zachary Crockett is just browsing.

• SOURCE:
  • Francisco Hernandez, owner of Leaves bookstore.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores," by Ryan L. Raffaelli (Harvard Business School Working Paper, 2020).
  • Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon (1973).
  • The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (1970).
  • Leaves bookstore.

• EXTRA:
  • "Dying Is Easy. Retail Is Hard," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).