1: The Good Cashmere Standard
Our partner was also the first company in China to be awarded The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) by the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF).
It has always been a pioneer in protecting the Inner Mongolian grasslands whilst securing the welfare of both the farmers and the goats. And, this solid foundation set the stage for its partnership with the AbTF.
Today, it is a major supplier of Good Cashmere Standard products and will become a member of the yet-to-be-established Advisory Board of the Good Cashmere Standard.
GOATS
Animal welfare is at the heart of The Good Cashmere Standard® incorporating the Five Freedoms as defined by the Farm Animal Welfare Council: No animal should be subjected to hunger, thirst, discomfort, pain, or injury.
FARMERS
The Good Cashmere Standard® also extends to the farmers themselves to make sure that they are committed to looking after and maintaining the goat’s welfare.
ENVIRONMENT
One of the central planks of The Good Cashmere Standard® is to protect the environment on which the goats, farmers, and farming communities live. Its key principle is to ensure that the goats and their lifestyles have no negative impact on their environment, especially on the land itself and the biodiversity that surrounds them.
For example, in the past the goats were left to roam free around the Inner Mongolian grasslands, pulling out the grassroots which they fed on. However, by pulling out the roots, the soil was left unstable and prone to erosion, resulting in giant sandstorms which blew down as far south as Hong Kong.
Our partners, therefore, planted vast forests of trees to restore soil quality. Today, the goats are kept within special goat farms so that they do not roam across the entire grasslands. They are still able to walk free but within certain protected areas.
The Good Cashmere Standard®by AbTF, therefore, stands for cashmere that is sustainably certified from farms where goats are treated responsibly, where the environment is protected, and the social, ecological, and economic living conditions of cashmere farmers and their families are all respected.
As it is expensive to join The Good Cashmere Standard, please rest assured that all the cashmere which we source comes from farms that are both sustainable and ethical. After all, there is no Planet B, and surely our children and the earth which they will inherit deserve only the best!
2: Green Credentials
In 2018, our partner became the first green factory approved in the textile industry.
In the same year, it was awarded the STeP Level 3 certification to prove that its textile production process is both eco-friendly and sustainable.
It has also been given the Oeko-tex Standard 100 and MADE IN GREEN by Oeko-Tex.
