What is RWS certification?

RWS certification is an independent, voluntary standard for responsible wool. RWS Certification On the farm side, this certification ensures that sheep receive five-star free treatment and ensures best practices in managing and protecting the land. Through the processing stage, certification ensures that wool from certified farms is properly identified and tracked.

The RWS Certification Standard (Responsible Wool Standard) also provides a robust chain of regulatory systems from farm to final product to ensure consumer confidence in RWS products. According to the Textile Exchange, 15 brands have already committed, Including H&M, Marks & Spencer, William-Sonoma, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer, REI, Eileen Fisher, Tchibo, Varner, Vaude, Coyuchi, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Deckers, Kathmandu, Knowledge Cotton Apparel.

The RWS partnership aims not only to regulate H&M's use of animal fur and other body parts, but also to ban animal testing of beauty products worldwide. The details so far include a ban on the use of Angora rabbit hair, live or force-fed bird feathers; To protect the health of hair-taking animals; Avoid selling the skin of any treasured or endangered animal or bird; Only skins from cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, fish and pigs are accepted, as these are common farmed animals.

In the fine print, H&M also has stricter requirements for wool products commonly found in clothing. It has developed a "Responsible Wool Standard" (RWS), which guarantees that from 2015 H&M will only use wool certified by professional bodies, and that the previous legislative standard, which forbids the use of live sheep, will continue to be improved. According to Extile Exchange, 15 brands and suppliers have pledged to follow the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS).

What is the focus of RWS certification?

1. Soil management methods for farming protect land health.

2. Complete supply chain transparency and integrated tracking system.

3. Animal welfare is based on five Star free farm animals.

Validity period of the RWS certificate

This certificate is valid for three years and will be audited annually. Audits may be scheduled during periods of higher risk (i.e., marking and cutting) at the discretion of the certification body.

RWS wool certification audit content：RWS Audit Preparation Document：

1) (RWS) Management Manual including Procurement, Raw Material Reception, Storage, Processing, risk control, Hangtag, Package, Product Storage, Dispatch, Training(RWS). Management Manual

2) Flat Map – RWS Production/ Storage area. plan

3) Flow Chart -- RWS Processing flow chart. 3) Flow chart -- RWS processing flow chart

4) Organization chart & general respective person. Organization chart

5) Organization Certificate, Tax Registration Certificate, Business License

6) Training Record

7) Cleaning Record. 7) Cleaning record

8) Raw Material Reception Check Record. Raw material acceptance record

9) (Parallel) Production Records (raw material purchase contract, purchase invoice, raw material warehousing record, material requisition record, sewing record, needle inspection record, daily production report, packing record, packing record, finished product warehousing record, finished product warehousing record)

10) Mass Balance Records. 10) Mass balance records

11) Labeling. RWS authentication file, RWS authentication process