AUSTRALIA’S peak wool industry body has declared its support for the Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme, recognising it as the preferred certification framework for Australian greasy wool – covering farm through to scouring.

Wool Industries Australia chairman David Michell said sustainability certification is becoming essential to maintaining access to premium global markets and building demand for Australian wool.

Wool Industries Australia president David Michell.

“While we recognise that it is currently a challenging environment for the wool industry, now more than ever we believe it is important to demonstrate that we are listening and responding to customer expectations in a way that is practical, efficient, and built for Australian conditions,” Mr Michell said.

“Certification is no longer a niche demand, it’s rapidly becoming a market expectation.

“By backing AWSS, we’re ensuring Australian wool growers are recognised for their sustainability practices, while strengthening demand and keeping Australian wool at the forefront of customer expectations, and doing so efficiently,” he said.

A WIA statement said the body “backs AWSS to secure wool’s sustainable future.”

WIA said AWSS is unique in being designed for Australian conditions, production systems and regulations, while reducing costs and complexity by leveraging the nation’s world-class integrity systems.

These include on-farm traceability tools such as WoolClip and eBale, the data validation systems within the Australian Wool Traceability Hub, as well as the internationally respected standards of Australian wool classing, which is a highly valued feature of buying Australian wool, WIA said.

Mr Michell said AWSS also has an important role to play in the global certification landscape, serving as a credible input into downstream sustainability programs and certified supply chains.

Recognising that the AWSS only covers wool through to the scouring stage, WIA members will be encouraging all consumer facing certification schemes to use the AWSS as their greasy data collection, verification and validation tool for wool sourced within Australia, the statement said.

“AWSS has been independently developed, aligns with the Australian Sheep Sustainability Framework, and reflects Australia’s production systems,” he said.

“It’s the right framework to deliver more certified wool to market while reducing costs and avoiding duplication for industry.”

The statement said WIA members have committed to working together to encourage support for AWSS across the wool supply chain and to ensure the scheme is recognised by alternative Australian wool certification schemes and downstream customers seeking sustainability and traceability assurances.

Source – WIA.