11 April 2022 – New report, “Sweating the Details: The use of merino wool in sportswear” published by global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, investigates the use of mulesed wool by the ten largest sportswear brands. The report focused on the market leaders — Nike, Adidas and Puma — which, combined, make up a third of the sportswear industry’s market value.

Nike, as the world's largest sportswear manufacturer, stands out in the report lagging behind its two biggest competitors Puma and Adidas in terms of animal welfare, as both brands have already made plans to switch to certified mulesing-free wool (2025 and 2030 respectively). 

FOUR PAWS calls on Nike to take this important step and align with consumer expectations towards greater animal welfare.

The report found that merino wool is increasingly used not only in thermal underwear but also in active wear, yoga pants, sports bras, cycling shorts, and running shirts, due to its unique characteristics: breathable, elastic, antimicrobial, and thermoregulating. 

What many consumers don't know is that these are often uncertified and therefore, it is very likely to come from cruel origins where mulesing is used. Mulesing is a mutilation practiced on millions of lambs, only a few weeks old, although pain-free alternatives have long been available.   

Because of wool's increasing popularity in sportswear, there is an urgent need to increase animal welfare responsibility in supply chains.

Mulesing, a systemic problem

FOUR PAWS has commissioned an independent laboratory in the UK to examine wool samples from various companies. The Australian wool industry, by far the world's largest producer (80%) of fine merino wool, specifies that in order to qualify as typical Australian “fine merino”, wool fibres must not fall above a maximum mean diameter of 22 microns. All samples had a mean diameter below 22 microns, which strongly suggests that the merino products contain Australian merino. When full supply chain traceability is not practiced and with only 14 per cent of Australian wool free of mulesing, the risks and welfare issue are obvious.

"The problem of mulesing is not an isolated case, but an industry problem. Nike, as a global leader, has an opportunity here to take a strong stance on animal welfare and get the industry to rethink quickly," said Picallo Gil.

Global shift away from mulesed wool

FOUR PAWS has been campaigning for an end to the cruel mulesing procedure for years. In 2021, more than 30 global fashion brands wrote an open letter to the Australian wool industry to end mulesing, and over 300 global brands are listed on the FOUR PAWS' Brands Against Mulesing list.

Australia is the only country in the world where the method of mulesing is still practiced. Mulesing involves cutting out large chunks of skin from two to ten-week-old lambs with sharp scissors, often without anaesthesia. For the lambs, this means fear and stress, but above all great pain that can last for days. There have long been alternatives to mulesing, such as switching to sheep breeds that are less susceptible to flystrike.

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.

Keen to know more? In 2020, independent report Towards a Non-Mulesed Future by socioeconomic consulting firm BG Economics highlighted the success experienced by wool producers across the country using genetics to battle flystrike, instead of mulesing. View report summary and download here.