SUSTAINABILITY
At Soft Goat we started our sustainability journey in 2016 and the most important thing to us, when it comes to sustainability, is transparency. We believe in openness throughout the production chain for a sustainable future. Therefore, we make sure to visit our factories and suppliers every year. Though the biggest parts of 2020-2022 we were unable to visit the factories due to the pandemic, but we are hoping that we will be able to visit them again during 2023.
Do you have any questions regarding Soft Goat and sustainability?
Contact [email protected].
THE GOATS & RAW MATERIAL
The choice of our raw material is the core of our company. Cashmere wool comes from cashmere goats living in an extremely cold climate on the high plateaus of the Gobi desert stretching between China, Mongolia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since the raw material comes from living animals, animal welfare is very important to us. We make sure to only work with nomadic herders and farmers who take good care of their goats. In the spring, when the goats start to shed their winter coat, they are combed or trimmed by hand to extract the downy undercoat. The undercoat consists of fine and soft hairs that protects the goat from the cold during the winter. It is the soft undercoat that is being used when making cashmere yarn.
Professionals who only work with gathering come to the farms when it is time to gather the cashmere wool. They trim the goats one at a time and usually two or three people trim one goat to minimize the time and stress for the goat. The undercoat is washed and then sent to factories to be spun into yarn. It takes about two to four years for a goat to produce enough wool to knit a cashmere sweater.
In order to protect the animals in the process where the cashmere wool is produced, in autumn of 2023 we developed an Animal Welfare Policy which we shared with all our subcontractors. Read more here.
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OUR MATERIALS
All yarn Soft Goat uses is OEKO-TEX® certified. This means that our products hold the standard in regards of harmful substances for textile and clothing manufacturers and have high human ecology requirements. As a customer, you can always feel assured of this when purchasing and wearing our products.
We produce garments in 100% cashmere, as well as wool blends, silk blends and cotton blends in our assortment. The wool that we use for wool blends is RWS-certified. Responsible wool standard is a voluntary standard that address the welfare of sheep and the land they graze on. By producing blend materials we can offer a wider range of knitted garments.
During the fall of 2021 we will also introduce recycled cashmere to our assortment. All of the recycled garments are made out of recycled cashmere sweaters that have been cut up, broken down and spun into new yarn. These garments are made with 5% RWS-certified wool to make sure it’s more durable. The sweaters that have been broken down to spin the new yarn have been collected from all over the world, but foremost from USA. When the yarn is being made, 53,3% less water is being used compared to the process of making new yarn.
We launched our first collection in 100% silk during spring 2022. The material is airy, durable, and elastic. The garments knitted in 100% silk is perfect for spring and summer.
The yarn that is used is called 2/120. It is a thin yarn with long fibers. It means that it is two treads that are 120 meters each are twisted together. The longer the fibers, the better quality of the yarn. It takes 3-400 silk cocoons to knit one garment.
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PRODUCTION OF RECYCLED CASHMERE
QUALITY CONTROL
A quality control is being made on the garments to make sure that they are made out of 100% cashmere.
THE GARMENTS ARE BEING SORTED
The garments are being sorted by color and being prepared for washing and dyeing.
DYEING
The fibers are then mixed to get the right color shade.
SPUN INTO YARN
The fibers are being spun into new yarn.
READY TO GO
The yarn is done and ready to be shipped to the knitting factory.
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OUR FACTORIES
We use a total of ten subcontractors in the form of knitting factories, woven factories and yarn factories. We work with three larger suppliers of yarn and a few smaller ones which can vary from season to season.
KNITTING FACTORY: XINGTAI, CHINA
This factory is owned by our agents in China, and it is here most of our garments are being produced. Here, the garments get knitted, linked and controlled until they finally is being sent to our warehouse in Stockholm. There are around 120 workers at the factory and it is located in one of the largest areas that are handling raw cashmere and cashmere knitwear production.
The factory has signed our code of conduct.
Visited by the Soft Goat team in January 2020.
KNITTING FACTORY: CARPI, ITALY
Here all of our garments made out of recycled cashmere is being produced. Here, the garments get knitted, linked and controlled before being sent to us. It is a family owned factory with 12 employees.
The factory has signed our code of conduct.
Visited by the Soft Goat team in September 2021.
FACTORY FOR ACCESSORIES: HUHOT, INNER MONGOLIA
At this factory most of our gloves, slippers and socks are produced.
The factory has signed our code of conduct.
Due to the pandemic we have not been able to visit the factory, our goal is to visit them during 2023.
KNITTING FACTORY: HUZHOU,ZHEJIANG
This factory produces most of our beanies, scarves and gloves. 180 people are working in this factory.
The factory signed our code of conduct.
Due to the pandemic we have not been able to visit the factory, our goal is to visit them during 2023.
FACTORY FOR WOVEN PRODUCTS: TONGXJIANG, ZHEJIANG
This factory produces our woven coats and jackets. There is 30 people working at this factory. A special technique and capacity are required to produce woven cashmere products with a beautiful finish and high quality, that is why all our woven products are being produced here. The workers at this factory are very skilled and we always get the best possible result and quality.
The factory signed our code of conduct.
Due to the pandemic we have not been able to visit the factory, our goal is to visit them during 2023.
FACTORY FOR HATS AND CAPS: DONGGUAN CITY, GUANGDONG
This factory produces our caps and hats. There is 90 people working on this factory.
The factory signed our code of conduct.
Due to the pandemic we have not been able to visit the factory, our goal is to visit them during 2023.
YARN FACTORY: NINGBO, CHINA
At this factory, the cashmere wool is being spun to yarn in different colors. This factory use modern Italian machines in their production. During our visit, we got the opportunity to speak to a couple of people working in the factory and they all gave us the impression that they enjoyed working at the factory. The average working hours are 8 h with 1 hour free for lunch and they work either 5 or 6 days per week. Overtime is voluntarily and payed.
The factory has signed our code of conduct.
Visited by the Soft Goat team in April 2018.
YARN FACTORY: ORDOS, INNER MONGOLIA
At this factory, the cashmere wool is being spun to yarn in different colors. There are around 500 people working at this factory and they produce up to 10,000 ton of cashmere per year.
This factory has signed our code of conduct.
Visited by the Soft Goat team in January 2020.
YARN FACTORY: XINGTAI, CHINA
At this factory, the cashmere wool is being spun to yarn in different colors. Around 320 people are working at this factory, and they produce up to 1200 ton of cashmere per year.
The factory has signed our code of conduct.
Visited by the Soft Goat team in January 2020.
YARN FACTORY: FLORENCE, ITALY
At this factory, the recycled cashmere is being spun into yarn. The old sweaters arrive to this factory to be broken down and spun into recycled yarn. The factory has 85 employees.
The factory has signed our code of conduct.
Visited by the Soft Goat team in September 2021.
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CODE OF CONDUCT
Together with the sustainability agency U&We we have developed a Code of conduct that all of our factories have signed. The Code of Conduct is based on international recognized principals for protection of human rights and workers’ rights according to UN:s general declaration regarding human rights. It also keeps building on relevant international agreements on protection of the environment and animal welfare.
We have spent years finding the best factories, factories which have good working conditions and deliver the best quality. By continuously visiting our factories, we work on building good relationships with the owners and make sure that the good working conditions are kept. The code of conduct makes sure that our factories and suppliers follow our standards, and informs them of what is being expected of them.
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SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE REPORTS
Our first sustainability report was published in 2018. Our goal is to publish one climate report every second year.
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WHAT CAN YOU DO?
As a customer, you can contribute to reduce the environmental impact by taking well care of your garment. Vent the garment between uses, wash the garment with other garments in a similar color to reduce the water usage. Use a liquid detergent and flat dry your garment. Store it folded in your closet with cedar tree balls.
Extend the life span of the garment by using our Care and Repair service. We recondition and repair it for you, giving it a new and fresh feeling.
When shopping with us you can choose Eco wrapping, which is a more environmental friendly option. Your package will then be shipped in one box instead of two, and in that way we reduce the consumption of unnecessary packaging.
ACHIEVED GOALS
During 2019 one of our goals was to release a collection made of 100% uncolored cashmere. In our collaboration with Michaela Forni we made two mini-collections where all the items were made in 100% uncolored cashmere. During 2020 we launched uncolored yarn in our ordinary assortment.
For a long time we have had a goal to launch recycled cashmere. During 2021 we launched a collection produced in Italy including recycled cashmere.
All our packaging that are used during order processing is FSC marked. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council and is an independent international member organization that works for environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable use of the world's forests.
To the greatest extend possible we always ship bulk-orders with train instead of air freight.
PROJECT PLAYGROUND
It is important to us that our products are available to as many people as possible and that they create opportunities for others. Therefore, we support the non-profit organization Project Playground by donating a sum of money to the organization every year. By shopping at Soft Goat, you contribute to Project Playground's beautiful work.
This text gets updated continuously; this text was updated 2023-10-17