Why Certifications Alone Don't Tell the Whole Story

A lot is said about the environmental damage caused by the explosion of the goat population since 1990, in order to meet the demand of fast cashmere. Figures suggest that there are now 250 million goats rather than 50 million and that the grassland has been overgrazed and suffers desertification in some areas. Other experts insist that climate change is responsible and that goat hooves do not break up the soil.

What’s easier to gauge is the decline in the price of cashmere. The average fast cashmere sweater is on average, 70% cheaper than its quality counterpart. Even customers that appreciate quality cashmere can’t resist an everyday sweater from the high street (that includes me not so many years ago). The impact of increased demand for cashmere at massively reduced prices puts all the pressure on the herders; to get more goats, to ignore sensible grazing densities and fallow periods, and instead produce fibre quickly, because he’ll earn more if he does. The herder who works in a traditional way may have higher quality fibre and more sustainable land, but will probably end up earning less. This is the consequence of a supply chain that doesn’t ask or appear to care about where and how a yarn was made.

I've asked yarn suppliers what matters most to brands when they select their yarns for a new season. It used to be simply price - “How cheaply can we produce a jumper?” They’re not worried about quality. But now a new question comes up. "Show us what you with certifications." There are many certifications - SFA, GCS, RWS, OEKO-TEX etc. When the yarn supplier asks which certification in particular, the brands say "We don't care. No one knows what they mean anyway. We just need something with a logo."  They are relying on consumers' lack of understanding.

What fast cashmere brands rarely ask is about quality. When I visited our producers in Inner Mongolia, the price conversation is all wrapped up in discussions about quality, because a jumper that’s poor quality will not build a brand in the long term and a price that does not sustain the producer does not sustain the fibre, and a fibre that does not sustain the land will not sustain our world.