RAS – Responsible Alpaca Standard
The Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) provides an opportunity for farmers to demonstrate their best practices to the public, and a means for brands and consumers to have the certainty that the alpaca fiber products they buy and sell are in line with their values.
RAS
About the standard
- Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)
- Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS)
- Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)
Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)
- It is a voluntary international standard that addresses animal welfare in the alpaca supply chain and the chain of custody of alpaca fiber material from certified farms to final product.
- Individual sites are certified by independent external certification bodies through annual audits.
- Material is traced from farm to final product through transaction certificates, following the requirements of the Textile Exchange Content Claim Standard (CCS).
Objectives
- Recognize farmers’ best practices;
- Ensure that alpaca fiber comes from farms with a progressive approach to managing their land and from alpacas that have been responsibly managed;
- Create an industry benchmark that drives improvements in animal care, land management and social welfare where necessary; and
- Provide a robust chain-of-custody system from farm to final product so that consumers have confidence that the alpaca fiber in the products they choose is truly RAS.
Scope
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Applies to all sites in the alpaca fiber supply chain: from the farm onwards for all alpaca fiber processing.
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After the farm level, certification falls under the umbrella of Responsible Animal Fiber (RAF), which includes the Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS), Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) and the Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS).
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Can be applied globally.
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The SAN applies only to sites in the alpaca fiber supply chain. Recycled alpaca fiber is not eligible for certification. Applies to products containing at least 5% RAS fiber, calculated as a percentage of the material. Final products containing non-certified virgin alpaca fiber are not allowed to be labeled with the RAS name or logo. It may also apply to alpaca processing by-products (e.g., fat) where 100% of the alpaca processing by-products are derived from RAS fiber. It may also apply to non-food slaughter products. The use of the RAS logo is not allowed, although textual statements about the origin of the by-products are permitted.
Documents
RAS Standard v1.0
Logo usage specification
How can we help you?
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