The latest results of the comprehensive verification of its cashmere farms and producers confirm that The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS) achieves very good results in terms of the sustainability and animal welfare aspects of cashmere production. Independent auditors attest to the high effectiveness of the measures taken by the standard in the past year to ensure compliance with its requirements.
A large alliance of well-known brands and textile companies uses the verified cashmere due to its reliability and effectiveness, with the newest alliance members including Lindex and Lululemon as well as Mango and Manor.
An analysis of the latest audit results shows that cashmere farms and producers complied with more than 90 percent of GCS criteria and principles. This is a very gratifying result, especially in view of the extended set of requirements imposed by the standard’s latest revision.
“The result underlines GCS-verified farms’ great commitment to animal welfare, environmental protection, and social responsibility,” says Gudrun Kersten, the project manager for verification management at the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), the organisation behind The Good Cashmere Standard. These results can be traced back to various measures, most significantly including the development of a digital learning platform, the increased frequency of regularly scheduled communication with producers, and the establishment of a model farm to demonstrate important methods of species-appropriate animal husbandry or environmental protection.
The Good Cashmere Standard is based on four pillars that cover the most important aspects of sustainable cashmere production: people, management, the environment, and the well-being of cashmere goats. For each of the pillars, the standard defines clear and comprehensive criteria, compliance with which is regularly monitored by independent auditors before being evaluated by the foundation’s team, which plans further measures as necessary.
Compliance is especially high in the areas of animal welfare, environmental protection, and people. In terms of animal welfare, excellent scores were awarded in categories including feeding, breeding, and kid management. The herders also achieved good results with regard to their land and plant management as well as to indicators for the protection of wildlife and biodiversity.
For example, a high percentage of farms rotate the pastures where the animals graze, thereby helping to preserve grassland and biodiversity. The independent auditors were also able to report strong compliance in social aspects, including children’s rights and effective GCS audit processes. The Aid by Trade Foundation nonetheless sees room for improvement, for instance in the area of fulfilling reporting obligations in connection with farm work.
In total, more than 460 audits of cashmere farms and producers were carried out as part of the latest annual verifications. Nineteen producers, including around 5,400 farms, passed inspection and received the corresponding GCS certificates; they are the only ones allowed to trade in GCS-verified cashmere in 2024, all the while observing the standard’s demanding requirements.
Since its introduction in 2019, GCS has had a positive impact on numerous areas of sustainable cashmere production as the first standard for sustainable cashmere fibres from Inner Mongolia. In 2023, 9,100 farms in Inner Mongolia with 4.3 million goats produced a total of 2,200 tonnes of GCS-verified cashmere, which represents yet another year-over-year increase.
More than 50 companies in the global textile industry are currently partners of The Good Cashmere Standard. To continue sustainably improving animal welfare and environmental protection in cashmere production, licensing income from retail and brand partners is invested in training activities to support the implementation of the standard as well as in projects and verifications. With all these factors combined, GCS offers consumers and companies a sustainable, verified alternative to conventional cashmere.
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