Mohair is a luxury fibre produced in Australia. Even though Australia is a small player in the global fibre market, MAL recognises that modern farming enterprises, irrespective of size, have a responsibility to improve their farming methods and systems to align with their target market.
Mohair Australia is committed to ethical mohair production in Australia. We seek to maintain the highest industry standards to ensure a sustainable, profitable and continuously improving the Australian mohair industry
The Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS)
Textile Exchange (a global non-profit that drives industry transformation in preferred fibres, integrity and standards, and responsible supply networks) has developed the Sustainable Mohair Production Guidelines in the internationally-recognised Responsible Wool Standard protocol. Textile Exchange identifies and shares best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry’s impact on the world’s water, soil and air, and the human population.
The goal of the Responsible Mohair Standard is to provide the industry with a tool to recognise mohair farmers using best practices, ensuring that mohair is produced at farms with a progressive approach to managing their land and a commitment to treating their goats ethically and responsibly.
Textile Exchange, whose members include luxury brands and retailers from around the world, has developed a standard that would assist the global mohair value chain to ensure responsible sourcing at all levels. The RMS was developed with key directions from the market, to ensure farming practices meet the progressive sustainability requirements of brands and retailers globally.
Textile Exchange released the following statement: “The newly released Responsible Mohair Standard verifies and identifies mohair produced in farming systems that respects animal welfare and the environment. The RMS applies a strong assurance system to perform regular audits of the farms and to track the material to the final product. The RMS is designed to ensure that animal welfare outcomes are delivered and that the goats are humanely treated, healthy, and well cared for,” stated Hanna Denes, Senior Manager of Standards at Textile Exchange.
Mohair Australia supports and encourages Australian mohair producers on their journey to RMS certification. There are two generic options: individual enterprise certification or group certification. MAL encourages each producer to consider the merits of RMS certification related to their individual enterprise. MAL believes that RMS certification will provide an opportunity for producers to obtain better value for their clip.
For more information please click on the links below:
About the Responsible Mohair Standard
The Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) is an international, voluntary standard that addresses animal welfare in goat farms and chain of custody of mohair from certified farms to the final product.
Individual sites are certified by independent third-party certification bodies using annual audits. Material is tracked from the farm to the final product using transaction certificates, following the requirements of Textile Exchange’s Content Claim Standard (CCS). For more information or to apply for certification, please visit: ResponsibleMohair.org
The goals of the Responsible Mohair Standard are to provide the industry with the best possible tool to:
• Recognize the best practices of farmers;
• Ensure that mohair comes from farms with a progressive approach to managing their land, and from angora goats that have been treated responsibly;
• Create an industry benchmark that will drive improvements in animal care and land management and social welfare where needed; and
• Provide a robust chain of custody system from farm to final product so that consumers are confident that the mohair in the products they choose is truly RMS.
About Textile Exchange
The Responsible Mohair Standard is owned and managed by Textile Exchange. Textile Exchange is a global non-profit that works closely with their members to drive industry transformation in preferred fibers, integrity and standards and responsible supply networks. Textile Exchange identifies and shares best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability and product end-of-life in order to reduce the textile industry’s impact on the world’s water, soil and air, and the human population.
