It's difficult to tell whether something is made responsibly in the fashion industry supply chain, which begins with seed and goes all the way to the retail floor. ZQ  certified merino wool can ensure your sweater has been produced responsibly. 

The ZQ certification is the most significant wool accreditation, ensuring that sheep are not exploited and that agricultural practices are ecologically sustainable on farms. ZQ-certified merino wool ensures the highest animal welfare and environmental standards, from the pasture to the mill. ZQ's protocol is better for animals, people and planet.

ZQ-certified satisfies several interests: sustainable farming practices, ethical treatment of animals and environmental minimalism through ZQ-certified merino

For a wool grower to be ZQ certified, they must adhere to all the requirements of the ZQ Grower Standard, which include five key areas: animal welfare and health; social responsibility; environmental responsibility; fibre quality; and programme management. All ZQ-certified properties are third party audited, including random audits during shearing season. ZQ also have an in-depth site visit process, which includes ZQ representatives being present at the farm when ZQ-certified wool is shorn to ensure ZQ standards for animal welfare and environmental minimalism are met.

All of this is to say that when you buy ZQ-certified wool, you can be confident that high animal welfare, social, and environmental standards were followed.

Read more about the ZQ certification here.