Nike commits to using RWS wool

Nike made the tweak in its updated chemistry playbook and restricted substances list released in May.

Four Paws head of the wool campaign Rebecca Picallo Gil said they congratulated Nike on the commitment, which follows a targeted campaign the organisation began in April 2022.

"With the upcoming mulesing season in Australia due to start, this news comes at a crucial time and sends a strong signal to the wool producers, being an influential brand with potential to inspire the entire apparel market," she said.

"This win was only possible with the help of tens of thousands of supporters fighting together with Four Paws for better animal welfare in the sports apparel market."

As part of its targeted campaign, Four Paws projected their call for Nike to stop using mulesed wool onto the facade of the brand's main European Logistic Campus in Laakdal, Belgium.

Nike is just one of a number of major brands and retailers that have committed to using only wool certified by RWS or other integrity schemes.

Kmart Australia has previously set a July 2023 target to use non-mulesed or recycled wool in their own brand clothing in bedding, with H &M and Ikea each pledging to similar commitments with a 2025 timeline.

In its Wool 2030 strategic plan, Australian Wool Innovation has signalled that it hopes that the industry will have moved away from mulesing by 2030, thanks to the development of alternative tools to manage flystrike, such as the vaccine being developed in conjunction with CSIRO.

Presently non-mulesed wool makes up a small proportion of the national clip.

Data included in the recently released Sheep Sustainability Framework annual report showed that during the 2022 financial year, the amount of Merino wool offered with a national wool declaration status of non-mulesed or ceased mulesed wool equalled 15.8 per cent of Merino bales, up by only 0.5pc from the previous year.

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According to the 2022 preferred fibre and materials market report put out by Textile Exchange in October 2022, the market share of wool produced according to the RWS, ZQ + ZQRX, and SustainaWOOL GOLD and GREEN schemes combined was 58,434 tonnes, or around 3pc of the world's total greasy wool production in 2021.

From 2020 to 2021, RWS-certified wool production increased from 24,195 tonnes of all global greasy virgin wool in 2020 to 51,078 tonnes.

Within Australia, 3pc of wool is RWS-certified, with 2pc is certified through SustainaWOOL GREEN.