Australian woolgrowers have a revitalised scheme to prove their on-farm sustainability credentials to a global market that is increasingly demanding it.
The Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme, which was launched at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide this week, is the reimagined SustainaWOOL Integrity Scheme which Australian Wool Exchange first took ownership of in 2018.
AWEX chief executive officer Mark Grave said the feedback they received from overseas and domestic Australian wool users in an independent review of the former scheme was that the integrity scheme needed to evolve to the changing needs of the market place.
"At its peak SustainaWOOL was probably 10-12 percent of Australian wool but over time it is has been eroded a bit," he said.
"One of the contentious points is that growers have been members of several schemes, some are owned by a particular buyer while others are commercially owned and each had a different level of reach.
"For us it was about having a fit for purpose integrity scheme that was independently verified and one that met the needs of all of our customers."
The four sustainability pillars are caring for our environment, caring for our sheep, caring for our people, customers and community and caring for out industry, along with quality clip preparation and integrity, which Mr Grave said was necessary for buyers to have confidence in their purchasing.
An independent expert panel including producers, consultants and researchers has been appointed to guide the Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme standards and ensure updates are based on the latest science.
Mr Grave says they acknowledged that Australian sheep were run in variable environments and needed to come up with dual pathways to wool accreditation while still giving producers a choice on flystrike control.
SustainaWOOL only accepts wool from non mulesed flocks but the new ResponsiWOOL acknowledges some flocks may need to undertake breech modification for flystrike prevention but this is only accepted with appropriate pain relief.
Another major difference according to Mr Grave will be the use of already available digital data from on-farm such as WoolClip, an app which allows growers to create electronic specifications and national wool declarations, to undertake some of the audit process.
There has been a great deal of interest leading up to the re-launched scheme and Mr Grave says he is thrilled with how the new program, which will be in place from July 1, has been received by all levels of the supply chain.
"Sustainability is something that is here and most growers if not every grower is well down the path, he said.
"If you are not being sustainable on-farm you are probably not a profitable farmer.
"We know woolgrowers look after their land, we know they look after their animals, what we are doing it demonstrating that to the world."
Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework steering group chair Scott Williams -who also spoke on sustainability at the congress- saes it as the "next revolution" on from selling wool by description.
"The market is now demanding to know how the sheep was raised, how the people on your farm are being treated as well as soil health and pasture health," he said.
Dr Williams acknowledged it would be a real challenge to keep growers engaged and willing to provide additional information at a time when prices were subdued.
"On the other hand no agricultural industry is going to be free from this, we are all being asked for more information," he said.
