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The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) was developed in response to the growing need and demand for more sustainable, transparent and traceable cashmere production. As an independent and voluntary standard for sustainable cashmere, it can help ensure that animal welfare, human rights and the environment are safeguarded during cashmere production. It thereby enables supply chain members from enterprises to farmers to address challenges such as animal welfare and environmental concerns. On top of that, our Chain of Custody Guidelines ensure that the ever-increasing demand for traceability and transparency within the supply chain is also met. Join us and become part of the shift to sustainable cashmere.

Implementation

International retailers and brands that are partners of The Good Cashmere Standard buy the raw material at world market prices and receive support to smoothly integrate sustainable cashmere into their textile value chains. At the end of the textile chain, the partner retailers or brands pay a nominal licence fee to the Aid by Trade Foundation. Income from licence fees is reinvested to benefit farmers, cashmere goats and support environmental protection in Inner Mongolia.

The Good Cashmere Standard is managed and owned by the Aid by Trade Foundation. The licence for the use of “The Good Cashmere Standard brand” is marketed exclusively by ATAKORA Fördergesellschaft GmbH (ATAKORA), which is furthermore responsible for supply chain management and business development.

Retailer and Brands

Ready Garment Manufacturer (RGM)

Spinning Mills

Farmers – Cashmere Producers

Traceability

GCS Labels

The Good Cashmere Standard® by AbTF can be mentioned in the corporate communications of any partner with a licensing or partnership agreement.

GCS offers many labelling options, such as hangtags, woven labels, and GCS-branded stickers in a variety of formats. For further information, contact us here. When asked to do so by retailers or brands, fabric and textile producers can procure labels for The Good Cashmere Standard from Nilorn Germany GmbH. This requires the fabric or textile producer in question to make an account on the label-ordering platform provided by Nilorn Germany GmbH. The platform is connected to the GCS tracking system, meaning that fabric and textile producers can place their label orders with Nilorn Germany GmbH by referring to the item quantities recorded in the tracking system.The labels themselves can only be obtained from:
Nilorn Deutschland GmbH
Itterpark 7
40724 Hilden, Germany
Tel. +49 (0) 2103 – 90 81 60
info@de.nilorn.com

GCS Tracking System (CATS)

The Cashmere Tracking System (CATS) was developed to create greater transparency and traceability in the textile value chain. All orders can be traced back from the finished product to the cashmere producer.

Only certified cashmere producers and farmers who have successfully completed the audit process are integrated into CATS, where individual balances of GCS-certified cashmere are recorded. Using this asset-balance account, registered spinning mills can source cashmere and fulfil GCS orders. Currently, no other standard in the cashmere industry provides such a comprehensive system. Please feel free to contact us for further information.

GCS Marking

GCS offers a unique marking system that ensures greater transparency and traceability throughout the textile chain.

Through its partnership with Tailorlux GmbH, GCS enables its trading partners to make their certified raw cashmere directly traceable by marking the fibres. During the dehairing stage of the production process, minuscule quantities of luminescent pigments (materials that emit light) are integrated with the fibres; this does not affect the quality, purity, colour, or further processing of the cashmere. The marked GCS cashmere can then be conclusively identified at every stage of the supply chain by means of a specialised handheld scanner. You can find more information here.

Retailers and Brands

In order to use our sustainable cashmere and labelling, retailers and brands must first conclude a licence agreement for The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) with ATAKORA. Retailers and brands are required to pay a partnership fee for their membership as well as a volume-related licence fee that is based on the amount of textiles they wish to label with The Good Cashmere Standard. To create even more transparency throughout the textile supply chain, retailers and brands can request DNA-marking of The Good Cashmere wool for authentication purposes.

Every retailer or brand must be registered on GCS tracking system (CATS). Should retailers and brands wish to track their products from producer to shelf, they can access this platform. This will involve the payment of an annual fee.

For the purposes of registration, the retailer or brand must declare the supply chain that will be deployed to produce goods carrying The Good Cashmere Standard label.

The labels themselves can be purchased exclusively from:
Nilorn Germany GmbH,
Itterpark 7
40724 Hilden, Germany
+49 210 390 81 60
info@de.nilorn.com

The retailer or brand must instruct the ready garment manufacturer to purchase The Good Cashmere Standard labels from Nilorn Germany GmbH. Before they can do this, the ready garment manufacturer must register themselves on the Nilorn Germany GmbH platform. The label ordering platform is connected with the GCS tracking system so that the ready garment manufacturer can order the labels from Nilorn Germany GmbH according to the quantities in the tracking system.

Drive the change

Ready Garment Manufacturer (RGM)

The Ready Garment Manufacturer (RGM) buys the certified raw material, yarn or fabric from a source that is certified according to The Good Cashmere Standard. The manufacturer can attain a list of certified producers from the AbTF and needs to apply for The Good Cashmere Standard labels on the Nilorn Germany GmbH platform once the registration process has been completed. Detailed information regarding registration is available from the AbTF.

Spinning Mills

A spinning mill (SM) purchases dehaired cashmere from a certified Good Cashmere Standard (GCS) source and processes it into yarn. Every SM that wishes to register with GCS must fill in the GCS registration form, which includes acceptance of the GCS code of conduct. The form is available online or can be requested from GCS. Completed forms are kept on file by GCS for reference. The SM must pay a registration fee. An invoice for the current fee is issued by GCS. Each SM must present proof of its purchase of cashmere from a GCS certified source. The proof must contain the source’s name and the quantity of GCS cashmere.

The SM will get access to CATS as soon as they are registered and have purchased cashmere from a certified source. Only when a spinning mill has received the order from CATS it can sell GCS yarn to a retailer/brand.

An overview about the GCS registered spinners can be downloaded here.

Farmers – Cashmere Producers

Cashmere Producers (buying stations or dehairing stations) need to apply for certification according to The Good Cashmere Standard. In order to apply, cashmere farmers must submit a self-assessment about their operations and conditions on their farms via the cashmere producer. The self-assessment questionnaire has been developed by the Aid by Trade Foundation and covers all aspects of sustainable cashmere production under The Good Cashmere Standard. Based on the results of the self-assessment and in consultation with AbTF, random on-site verifications of the farms are conducted to check the proper implementation of the standard.

The verification encompasses numerous aspects of goat keeping, -management and -transport as well as the harvesting, combing and shearing of the cashmere wool. After the documents submitted have been checked and approved, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) will initiate the external certification according to the requirements of The Good Cashmere Standard. Should the certification process be successful, the cashmere producer will receive a certificate, which is valid for one year and allows them and the farmers to sell cashmere certified according to The Good Cashmere Standard.

In the course of the certification process, the cashmere producer must adhere to certain reporting criteria, which will be communicated by the AbTF.