Post by Aid by Trade Foundation

At first glance, cashmere and drought don't seem connected. But every cashmere fibre starts in rangelands. And up to fifty per cent of the world’s rangelands are now degraded or at risk. On the #WorldDaytoCombatDesertificationandDrought, it's worth looking beyond the final product and towards the landscapes that make it possible. In Inner Mongolia, grasslands are the foundation of cashmere production. They provide grazing areas for goats, support biodiversity and help ecosystems remain resilient during periods of environmental stress. When grasslands degrade, everybody feels the impact: herders, goats, local communities and ultimately supply chains. That is why environmental protection is one of the four pillars of #TheGoodCashmereStandard. Alongside animal welfare, social criteria and responsible management practices, the standard includes requirements related to land management, biodiversity and ecosystem protection. Today, plenty of Inner Mongolian cashmere is already verified according to The Good Cashmere Standard, helping bring greater transparency and accountability to the sector. The conversation around cashmere is changing. It's no longer only about fibre quality. It's also about how grazing systems are managed, how ecosystems are protected and how resilient production landscapes remain in a changing climate. Sometimes the future of fashion depends on things that never appear on a garment label. Like rangelands.