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Revised Good Cashmere Standard Boosts Level of Animal Welfare And Transparency - AbTF

• By  Textile Excellence
• April 18, 2024

Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is boosting the credentials of The Good CashmereStandard® (GCS) by revising the standard’s criteria and embarking on a new collaboration with TextileGenesis, A Lectra Company.

The Good CashmereStandard® is an independent seal for sustainably produced and traceable cashmere fibres from Inner Mongolia. The latest Version 2.0 of the standard, places greater emphasis on animal welfare in cashmere production. In addition, AbTF is underlining its commitment to transparency and traceability in the production chain by working with TextileGenesis which provides a platform for tracing textile supply chain.

“We are certain that the Aid by Trade Foundation’s revision of The Good Cashmere Standard will serve to further prioritise the welfare of the goats,” states Tina Stridde, Managing Director of Aid by Trade Foundation. She added, “To accelerate progress towards achieving transparency and traceability from raw cashmere to the final product, we are working with TextileGenesis, an established, technologically innovative platform.”

The Good Cashmere Standard 2.0

Following its revision, GCS Version 2.0 is built on four pillars that encompass the key aspects of sustainable cashmere production: cashmere goat welfare, the environment, people, and management. With these pillars and the accompanying criteria, GCS is effectively and comprehensively moving cashmere production towards greater sustainability, both at the farms and in the first stage of processing cashmere fibres, which takes place at buying and dehairing stations.

The revision revolves around goat welfare which was developed on the basis of David J. Mellor’s model of five domains of animal welfare. This addresses five clearly defined aspects: nutrition, environment, health, behaviour, and mental state. Fulfilling the criteria of this pillar means not only meeting the goats’ physical needs but also providing them with positive emotional experiences.

AbTF is also launching a pilot project for animal welfare assessments. The assessments are based on the Animal Welfare Indicator Protocol (AWIN) and taken together with GCS criteria to draw a comprehensive picture of animal welfare conditions.

To supplement the detailed information collected through audits, at least one indicator was selected for each of the assessment’s four sections - nutrition, environment, health, and behaviour - as a way of taking the animals’ perspective into account as well. Several auditors in China have already been trained as animal welfare assessors for this purpose. After evaluation of the pilot project results, further implementation of the programme for animal welfare assessments on farms in Inner Mongolia is planned.

Revision of GCS standards also addresses other three pillars: people, management, and the environment. It provides clear guidelines for protecting biodiversity and land through land management, achieving dignified labour conditions for all people involved in cashmere fibre production and ensuring compliance with responsible business practices, the verification process and GCS values.

The implementation of The Good Cashmere Standard 2.0 and its criteria will be mandatory as of 2025 and will be monitored through independent verifications at regular intervals.

Collaboration with TextileGenesis

Transparency and traceability in cashmere production are core concerns for the Aid by Trade Foundation with regard to the implementation of The Good Cashmere Standard. AbTF thus plays a major role in ensuring that companies and brands can comply with the rising requirements for responsible textile production. Since the very beginning, the standard has required producers to separate verified cashmere from non-verified cashmere. Compliance with these requirements is monitored through audits. And products that really contain verified cashmere wool can bear the GCS label or a product with The Good Cashmere Standard label must contain only verified cashmere.

Until now, the implementation of these requirements for processing cashmere wool has been documented in AbTF’s proprietary tracking system; going forward, GCS-verified cashmere will be traced through TextileGenesis, A Lectra Company. “For fashion brands, guaranteeing the transparency and reliability of their supply chain has become a key issue. By entering into this partnership with The Good Cashmere Standard, our aim is to promote full traceability of responsible cashmere, from the place where the goats are reared to the point of sale," explains Amit Gautam, the founder and CEO of TextileGenesis.

Christian Barthel, the head of business development at the Aid by Trade Foundation, adds, “At The Good Cashmere Standard, we place great value on traceability and transparency. We began by investing in a robust system that enables us to trace every order back to the cashmere producer. Now, we are excited to reinforce this commitment by partnering with TextileGenesis to offer both current and future partners the option of working through an established and technologically innovative platform.”

The Good CashmereStandard® is an independent seal for sustainably produced and traceable cashmere fibres from Inner Mongolia. The latest Version 2.0 of the standard, places greater emphasis on animal welfare in cashmere production, transparency and traceability in the production chain by working with TextileGenesis.