28 September 2021 – According to some attendees at this month’s Wool Connect Conference, Australian wool growers are hitting an information wall when it comes to hearing about the increased calls from textile brands and their need for mulesed-free wool.

Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS presented an open letter at the conference, featuring 35 major brands, including Adidas, H&M Group, Bestseller, VF Corporation, Mammut, Patagonia, and Otto Group, which have publicly signed the FOUR PAWS 'Brand Letter of Intent', stating they do not want mulesed wool, and they call on the Australian wool industry to enable the transition away from mulesing and towards pain-free alternatives.

The conference provided a unique opportunity for wool growers worldwide get the chance to engage directly with the global supply chain stakeholders to hear more about demand for mulesed-free wool, trends and innovation. The Schneider Group’s Wool Connect Conference had 439 participants, of which 40.8% were Australian, 34.1% were wool growers and 52.3% were from the textile industry.

Animal welfare was high on the agenda, with mulesing a key topic for all supply chain partners including wool growers.

Due to its extensive work building animal welfare in the textile industry, FOUR PAWS was invited to share its global progress discussing alternatives to mulesing with brands and their supply chains.

During discussions on mulesing at the conference, some participating Australian wool growers stated that they are not receiving the crucial feedback from brands and their demands for non-mulesed wool.

FOUR PAWS is surprised that the vocal demand from brands is not arriving in Australia and questions the reasons behind this information gap.

“Now with the publication of the Brand Letter of Intent, it is clear that these 35 brands are just the beginning. These brands signed the Letter of Intent in just five months. Every day, FOUR PAWS are being contacted by wool suppliers and fellow brands who have heard about mulesing from their consumers and are concerned. While it may seem like just 35 brands for now, these 35 brands are also joining the 220 brands who have already said ‘no more’ to mulesed wool and appear on our Brands Against Mulesing list. These brands numbers continue to rise, so they should not be dismissed,” said Picallo Gil.

Heinz Zeller, the head of sustainability & logistics for the German luxury fashion house Hugo Boss, echoed this sentiment, telling conference attendees that mulesing-free wool should be considered entry level and a must have.

Zeller then said in relation to Australian wool growers where fine merino wool below 20 microns mainly comes from Australia: “There is not the availability on the market for fine mulesing-free wool. Here we have to ramp up.” said Zeller.

FOUR PAWS working with major brands

FOUR PAWS is currently working with major brands including Calvin Klein and Puma to publish phase-out commitments based on full supply chain traceability and timelines, mostly until 2025, while the Brand Letter of Intent features 35 international brands who are addressing the Australian wool industry directly via an open letter, demanding a tangible plan to end mulesing by 2030.

Over 3,000 Australian wool growers are mulesing-free, and various wool assurance schemes can reliably exclude mulesed wool. Further, Australian Wool Innovation has announced plans to develop tools to increase wool growers’ confidence and ability to manage flystrike without mulesing by 2030.

Rebecca Picallo Gil is available for interviews to discuss her presentation.

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