BIELLA, Italy — The manufacturer of wool tops Schneider Group has launched Authentico, a verification system on the traceability of wool.
The aim of the system, based on the group’s global certified network, is to guarantee a transparent, ethical and high-quality wool supply chain starting from the sourcing and manufacturing processes. The main goals are to offer traceable quality, sustainable innovation and responsible partners for whom the new system provides criteria under the Authentico integrity scheme and the Authentico Brand Guidelines.
The former oversees the best practices for growers’ implementation at farm level, such as land and pasture management and social responsibility. Also fundamental is animal welfare as partners have to be 100 percent mulesing free (a surgical procedure in which flaps of the sheep’s skin are cut away in order to prevent fly-strike) and respect five domains — nutrition, mental state, behavior, health and environment.
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The Authentico Brand Guidelines refer to all other suppliers, from spinners, weavers and knitters to garment makers, brands and retailers that are given precise criteria in order to reach, among other objectives, the implementation of the ZDHC program.
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“At the Schneider Group we want our customers and partners to rely on sustainability and traceability not only at the farm, but also at the industrial level, to consistently guarantee a complete respect for people and the environment, continuously improving our impact on the planet,” said Laura Ros, chief executive officer of the Schneider Group. “This has meant investing in a team of skilled people who are doing constant fieldwork with growers and brokers as well as in our certified network of mills across five continents, an important commitment we are very proud of.”
In addition, the group has incorporated the traceability platform Textile Genesis within its Authentico verification system to digitally track all incoming and outgoing wool in order to speed the process of the transaction certificates being digital.
Committed growers have two ways to become Authentico partners, either directly, in Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, by registering on Authentico’s platform, or by recognition, meaning that the Authentico integrity scheme recognizes and acknowledges at least one of the standards aligned to the system. In this case additional auditing is not required and the verification applies in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and South Africa.
The fibers sourced from the selected growers are processed into bales and directly operated and fully certified in the Schneider Group’s own production sites, which include Pettinatura di Verrone in Italy, Fuhrmann in Argentina and Mediterranean Wool Industries in Egypt.
Authentico was launched on the Schneider Group’s website and on the company’s social media. It also will be presented during textile fairs like Pitti Filati and Milano Unica, among others.
Founded in 1922, the Italian-based Schneider Group is a world leader in sourcing, processing and supplying high quality wool, cashmere, vicuna and other precious animal fibers. The group’s network comprises trading offices, wool combing plants, cashmere and vicuna mills, as well as wool and byproduct treatment plants in nine locations, including Verrone in Biella, Italy. It employs more than 600 people in eight countries across five continents.
The Schneider Group supplies wool and specialty fibers ranging from under 10.5 to more than 30 microns for a capacity of 19,500 tons of wool and over 600 tons of specialty fibers.