Colours include:

REACH STANDARD

REACH is a European regulation (Regulation No. 1907/2006) which came into force in 2007 to make the manufacturing and use of chemical substances safe in European industry.

Its goals are to:

• Protect human health and the environment from the potential risks of chemical substances;

• Establish identical and transparent information on the nature and risks of substances, as they are or in a mixture, from the supplier to the final customer;

• Make the handling of chemical substances safe for employees;

Strengthen the competitiveness of industry, in particular the chemical industry, a key sector of the economy in Europe.

Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) & Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)

The Responsible Mohair Standard and the Responsible Wool Standard ensure the welfare of goats for the production of Mohair or sheep for the production of wool.

These labels guarantee:

• Better land management practice

• Respect for the welfare of goats (breeding, shearing, end of life) & respect for the animal welfare of sheep (breeding, ban on mulesing, shearing, end of life)

OEKO-TEX

OEKO-TEX is a quality label comprising several technical standards, aimed at certifying the sanitary and ecological qualities of textiles and leather, guaranteeing the absence of toxic products for the body and for the environment.

Superwash process

Although the superwash process is a bit less sustainable in terms of production, it can increase product life because it is easier to wash and maintain. It isn’t possible for us to offer a non superwash yarn at the moment, due to the large quantities of this wool requested by the spinning mill for a traceable version. Choosing the superwash version first allowed us to obtain traceable wool, which was also one of our criteria. And as mentioned above, the chemicals used are all REACH standard.

Non-muelsing

Mulesing is a surgical technique to remove part of the perianal skin of sheep. This is a common practice in Australia as a way to reduce the incidence of myiasis in Merino sheep. It is performed during the process of shearing by the breeders and is done without anesthesia. The sheep on which it is performed  do not benefit from special medical monitoring following the removal of the skin. If the operation does not degenerate into an infection, it is usually estimated that 2 to 3 weeks for this wound to heal. The psychological trauma for the animal lasts a lifetime.

The presence of certain labels, in particular the PETA Approved and PETA Cruelty Free labels but also labels more specific to merino wool including ZQ and RWS (Responsible Wool Standard), also guarantee animal welfare and therefore entirely exclude the practice of Mulesing, which is the case with our merino!