For the second consecutive year in 2025, the Aid by Trade
Foundation (AbTF) and Animal Welfare Assessment (ARAWA)
have conducted a pioneering project parallel to the independent
verifications of The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS).
ARAWA assessments provide a comprehensive overview of the
health status of a herd on an audited farm, going beyond
standard verification procedures. They are inherently complex,
which makes them a rarity in the standards sector, but offer
support in identifying non-conformities and providing a holistic
overview of a herd’s well-being.
While criteria such as the availability of feed, good health and
suitable habitats for goats remain fundamental to the GCS, it
also places great importance on animals having positive
subjective experiences. ARAWA assessments investigate
whether the resources provided actually lead to improved animal
welfare outcomes. The indicators used by GCS are directly
linked to the Five Domains of animal welfare. The number of
audited farms was expanded by 39% in 2025 and now covers 100
assessed farms in Inner Mongolia and 2,298 cashmere goats.
There are also plans to further increase the number of farms
surveyed in 2027.
“By deciding to fundamentally integrate ARAWA into our
processes, GCS goes beyond the usual standards criteria for
assessing animal welfare,” says Marvin Heuduck, head of The
Good Cashmere Standard at the AbTF. “We are pleased that the
current results confirm the good work on the GCS verified farms.
From these results, we can gain valuable new information with
which we will further develop animal welfare aspects according
to regional and seasonal particularities in close cooperation with
herders and cashmere producers.”
Eight specific parameters currently provide insight into the
living conditions of cashmere goats in respect of nutrition,
environment, health and land management. The review is
conducted independently. Based on the data obtained, the
general health status of the animals was classified as ‘good’ and
there are no signs of underlying health problems.