“Adopting high quality clip preparation and on-farm traceability tools increases buyer confidence, enhancing competition and market access.”
Just as a sustainable stewardship of natural resources seeks to avoid harm and maximise productive potential, the same applies to wool produced on farms – including consideration of the needs of buyers and processors in the wool supply chain.
Poor clip preparation practices can limit processing potential of wool lots, increase risks to purchasers, and ultimately reduce buyer competition and price realisation for wool.
The Code of Practice for the preparation of Australian Wool Clips (COP) is an Australian industry document that describes the recommended practices and standards to which wool should be prepared.
The COP aspires to three objectives:
To prepare uniform, consistent, reliable, predictable, low risk lines of wool suitable for the diverse needs of wool processing; and thus maximise competition,
To present a product free of contamination; that is
Correctly documented, described and packaged.
Traceability is also of increasing importance. Using on-farm digital data capture tools allows traceability to be more efficient, reliable, and undertaken with speed from the source of origin.
For these reasons, quality clip preparation standards and digitally enabled traceability are required for all involved in AWSS, meeting the collective responsibility to support confidence in the quality and integrity of Australian wool.
Outcomes
Wool is prepared to the Code of Practice for the preparation of Australian wool clips.
Key provenance and traceability data has been declared on-farm using industry digital data capture tools.
Meeting this requirement
Owners / managers of AWSS-certified properties have committed to the AWSS Clip preparation and integrity outcomes supported by declarations and evidence regarding their clip preparation and integrity management.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can request wool from your processing partners that have used wool lots identified as SustainaWOOL – SW code at auction in Australia.
Every property with an AWSS Certificate of Compliance has completed a successful desktop audit with their application including Operator declarations and commitments to the AWSS Grower Standard. A successful annual desktop audit is a condition of certification.
Desktop compliance reviews of the Australian auction catalogue are undertaken by AWEX each week.
Wool lots offered for sale as either SustainaWOOL (Scheme code 'SW') or ResponsiWOOL (Scheme code 'RE') are audited for current and correct certification, and against quality and integrity requirements.
On-farm inspections of Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme certified properties are carried out regularly.
This is currently undertaken by professional inspectors from the Australian Wool Exchange and will soon be moving to a third-party verifying entity.
The Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme (AWSS) connects Australian wool growers with brokers, buyers, processors and brands from around the world who share a common vision - of a wool industry that can celebrate and specify the highest standards of sustainability, integrity, and clip preparation, using technology to improve efficiency and enable traceability.
The Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme offers two types of certification: SustainaWOOL and ResponsiWOOL.
Both meet our sustainability standards across the board and differ only in one aspect of caring for sheep, which is breech modification status.
This allows the Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme to be inclusive of different wool production systems in Australia, while importantly having clear separation for customers for whom purchasing non-mulesed wool is important.
To maximise competition and market access for their wool by managing and maintaining their properties, businesses, and the animals in their care, using world-class and recognised sustainable practices that help deliver ongoing viability and success of their enterprises and that of the Australian wool industry.
As an Australian sustainability scheme, the program aligns with key Australian wool industry programs, minimising duplication, and inefficiency of on-farm practice verification.
Using digital AWEX services and innovations such as WoolClip and eBale, choosing to be part of the Australian Wool Sustainability Scheme can give the wool grower, their selling agent and buyers access to credible, fast, and cost-effective certification for lots of wool from a compliant property both at auction or privately sold and post-sale.
Flystrike is a serious condition that can cause remarkable pain and distress and can be fatal to sheep. Sheep genetics, climate conditions including sheep blowfly (Lucilia Cuprina) outbreaks after periods of rain and heat, and farming practices such as frequency of monitoring, crutching and administration of chemical protections, are all important factors to consider regarding the utility of breech modification on a given property.
By allowing mulesing with appropriate pain relief, ResponsiWOOL recognises breech modification as a tool that can help protect sheep as part of a property’s sheep health and wellbeing plan. This is an inclusive approach to enable more Australian wool producers to participate in sustainability certification.
