RWS – Responsible Wool Standard

The Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) 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 wool products they buy and sell are in line with their values. Control Union Certifications BV is accredited by SLAB for this scheme under registration nr. CP 004-01.

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Responsible Wool Standard

About the standard

RAF – Responsible Animal Fibre:

Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)
Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS)
Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)

Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)

A voluntary international standard that addresses animal welfare on sheep farms and the chain of custody of wool 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 Textile Exchange’s Content Claim Standard (CCS).

Objectives

Recognize farmers’ best practices;
Ensure wool comes from farms with a progressive approach to managing their land and from sheep that have been responsibly managed;
Create an industry benchmark that drives improvements in animal care, land management and social welfare where necessary;
Provide a robust chain-of-custody system from farm to final product so that consumers have confidence that the wool in the products they choose is truly RWS.

More information

Scope

– It applies to all parts of the wool, mohair and alpaca supply chain, respectively. From the farm, wool processing, assembly of the final products, to the seller in the last business-to-business transaction. After the farm level, certification falls under the umbrella of Responsible Animal Fibre (RAF), which includes both the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) and the Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS). – It can be applied globally. – The RWS applies only to sites in the wool supply chain. Recycled wool is not eligible for certification. – Applies to products containing at least 5% RWS wool, calculated as a percentage of the material. Final products containing non-certified virgin wool are not allowed to be labeled with the RWS name or logo. – It may also apply to wool processing by-products (e.g. lanolin or wool grease), where 100% of the wool processing by-products come from RWS wool. – It may also apply to non-food slaughter products. The use of the RWS logo is not allowed, although textual statements about the origin of the by-products are permitted.