Archive for September, 2021

The Sustainable Cashmere Standard Public Consultation is Now Open

Posted by Katy Edwards

SFA first published codes of practice for rangeland stewardship, animal husbandry, and clean fibre processing. The focus for each of these is on continuous improvement with certification at three award levels to reflect compliance. 

In 2022 the SFA is proposing consolidating into the Sustainable Cashmere Standard, a performance-based, outcome-oriented worldwide standard. The Principles and Criteria focus on the production of cashmere in a way that is measurably better for animals, the environment, and herding communities. 

The SCS Principles are the essential rules or elements of environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable cashmere production, and the Criteria provide the means of judging whether or not a Principle has been fulfilled. 

To find our more, visit our website for more details. 

Sustainable Fibre Alliance Becomes an ISEAL Community Member

Posted by Katy Edwards

ISEAL is pleased to welcome the Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA) into the ISEAL community as an ISEAL Community Member. We are excited to learn from their experience at implementing a standard at a landscape level, and engaging with them to support their improvement over time.

ISEAL members are sustainability systems and accreditation bodies dedicated to delivering benefits for people and planet. They are committed to continually improving their systems and impacts through learning and innovation; collaborating with stakeholders and peers; and are transparent and truthful about how their systems work and how they measure their impacts.

In becoming an ISEAL Community Member, SFA joins a growing number of well-respected sustainability systems that are driving positive social and environmental change across multiple sectors. SFA will be working alongside these mission-driven sustainability organisations to continuously improve the effectiveness of their systems and demonstrate impact.

Further to the recommendation from the ISEAL Membership Committee, and ISEAL Board approval, ISEAL’s Executive Director Karin Kreider said, “I am very pleased to welcome the Sustainable Fibre Alliance to the ISEAL community! And, excited that we now have a member whose primary focus is the cashmere sector and working in Mongolia. They provide an important contribution to the challenges of textile production and their field-based work contributes to landscape-based approaches — a welcome addition to the ISEAL learning community.”

Una Jones, CEO & Founder of SFA commented that, “Being an ISEAL community member is a reflection of how committed the SFA is to improving our standard system and its requirements and processes. We are looking forward to learning from other standard holding bodies and sharing best practices and innovative approaches for tackling sustainability challenges”.

ISEAL encourages any organisation developing or operating a sustainability system with a multi-stakeholder approach and a commitment to credible practices to consider joining ISEAL. 

Find out more on the ISEAL membership page.

About ISEAL

ISEAL is the global membership organisation for ambitious, collaborative and transparent sustainability systems. We’re driving collective efforts to tackle the most pressing sustainability issues and create a world where markets are a force for good.

Joining ISEAL’s learning community helps sustainability systems and their partners to deliver real, lasting, positive change. Our Community Members are sustainability standards and similar systems that collaborate to scale and demonstrate positive impact. Our Code Compliant members go further, adhering to our Codes of Good Practice – a globally recognised framework for best practice.

Find out more about our members: www.isealalliance.org

Explore evidence on the impacts of sustainability systems: www.evidensia.eco

Sustainability in the Cashmere Sector Conference

Posted by Katy Edwards

The live portion of our first virtual conference has concluded and we want to thank the over 400 attendees and 50+ speakers who helped make this event a huge success! While the live sessions are complete, you will still be able to view the recorded sessions, explore the exhibition hall, and continue to network with the cashmere industry through 14 October.

It is not too late to purchase a ticket to gain access to the platform and view the recorded versions of the live sessions. Please visit our event website here to learn how to register: https://conference.sustainablefibre.org/virtualconference/.