To address this, we are a founding partner of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance (SFA), a UK-based NGO working with key stakeholders in Mongolia to improve the impacts of cashmere production by restoring grasslands, promoting animal welfare and supporting a decent living for cashmere goat herders. During 2018, over 3,800 herding families producing approximately 170 tonnes of cashmere committed to the SFA’s Codes of Practice on Rangeland Stewardship and Animal Welfare. These programmes aim to stimulate positive change beyond our footprint and make sustainable materials more mainstream across the industry. In 2015, we became a founding partner of the SFA, a UK-based not-for-profit organisation working with key stakeholders involved in driving sustainable cashmere production in Mongolia; restoring grasslands, promoting animal welfare and improving the livelihoods of herders and their families.
Through the Burberry Foundation, we support the social and economic empowerment of rural communities in Afghanistan. In partnership with Oxfam and PUR Projet, The Burberry Foundation is implementing a long-term programme focused on developing a more inclusive and sustainable cashmere industry and helping herders enhance their livelihoods.
During FY 2018/19, a new goat breeding facility designed to help herders improve the quality and yield of their cashmere production was opened. It currently hosts over 150 “elite” cashmere goats. In addition, more than 2,500 herders have been trained on sustainable cashmere harvesting and livestock management practices. Key local stakeholders have been engaged to facilitate the development of community-owned collective action organisations, pro-actively involving women in their design and management. Overall, more than 7,000 community members benefitted from these activities during the year.