# Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) - Certification body: ETKO Ecological Agriculture Control Organization - Category: Textile Certification - Canonical page: https://www.etko.com.tr/certifications/textile/responsible-alpaca-standard - Markdown: https://www.etko.com.tr/certifications/textile/responsible-alpaca-standard.md ## Summary The Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) is an international standard that ensures the welfare of alpacas and the sustainability of their grazing land, providing… ## Does ETKO provide Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) certification? Yes. ETKO certifies Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) within its Textile Certification program. This page covers the standard, the application process, and related documents. ## What is Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)? The Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) is an international standard that ensures the welfare of alpacas and the sustainability of their grazing land, providing… ## Details # **What is the Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)?** Owned and managed by Textile Exchange, the Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) is an international, voluntary standard focused on animal welfare, land management, and social responsibility in alpaca fiber production. Operating under the same framework as the RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) and RMS (Responsible Mohair Standard), the RAS ensures that alpacas are raised ethically and healthily, in accordance with the "Five Freedoms." It promotes the protection of natural environments, particularly in sensitive ecosystems like the Andes where alpacas are predominantly bred, and mandates that the certified fiber is transparently tracked through to the final product. ## **Key Technical Criteria of RAS Certification** The RAS sets strict requirements across the supply chain, from farm to consumer. The technical framework can be summarized as follows: - **Animal Welfare:** Alpacas must be raised in environments free from hunger, thirst, pain, fear, and distress. - Shearing must be performed professionally, accommodating the natural behavior of the animal, without causing stress or injury. Since alpacas are herd animals, their psychological well-being during shearing and handling is also protected under the standard. - **Land Management and Environmental Impact:** Farmers are required to protect the biodiversity of the land where alpacas graze (often high-altitude, fragile pastures). - Although alpacas have padded feet that are gentler on the soil than hooved animals, grazing plans must still prevent overgrazing, and soil and water health must be strictly maintained. The use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers is heavily restricted. - **Chain of Custody:** Like other Textile Exchange standards, the RAS utilizes the Content Claim Standard (CCS) framework. - Once it leaves the farm, RAS-certified alpaca fiber is physically tracked through all processing stages (scouring, combing, spinning, weaving, and garment making) using **Transaction Certificates (TCs)**. This strictly prevents it from being mixed with conventional alpaca fiber. - **Manufacturing Phase Audits:** Production facilities in the supply chain (e.g., textile mills) applying for RAS are not audited for environmental or social processing criteria (like chemical use or energy efficiency); the sole focus of the audit is the physical chain of custody of the material. ## Who this standard is for RAS is for alpaca fibre farms (often in the Andean supply) and for processors that need chain of custody for a Responsible Alpaca claim. Do not use an RWS wool certificate to cover alpaca. ## What is certified - Alpaca farms: animal welfare, land management, social criteria - CoC from fibre collection through top, yarn, fabric, and product - Transaction certificates for RAS-claimed lots - Exporters and traders that take ownership of RAS fibre ## What this standard does not cover - Sheep wool (RWS) and mohair (RMS) - Organic alpaca without organic + textile content/process standards - Country-of-origin or luxury-quality claims as a substitute for RAS ## Questions buyers and operators usually ask ### Our Peruvian supplier has a farm RAS certificate. Is the yarn RAS? Only if every owner from that farm lot through the spinner is CoC-certified and TCs match the lots. A farm PDF attached to a commercial invoice is not CoC. ### Can RAS fibre be blended with sheep wool? Blends are possible as a product, but the RAS claim applies only to the RAS-certified alpaca portion under the mixing and labelling rules. Calling the whole blend RAS is incorrect. ### Is RAS accepted as an animal-welfare substitute for RWS in a wool programme? No. Buyers specifying RWS mean sheep. RAS is alpaca. Put the fibre actually used on the specification. ### Do small herder groups need their own legal entity? Group models follow the standard’s current farm-group rules, including internal control. Confirm the group certificate lists the producing sites you actually buy from. ## What to have ready before the audit - Farm or group certificate covering the animals that produced the fibre - Incoming TCs and lot numbers through export - Blend bills of materials showing alpaca percentage vs other fibres - CoC certificates of topmaker and spinner - Label copy limited to certified alpaca content ## Frequent findings - RWS hangtag on an alpaca knit - Gap in CoC at the exporter or bonded warehouse - Claiming the full garment as RAS when it is a wool-alpaca blend - Buying from herders not on the group list ## How do I apply for Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) certification with ETKO? Submit an online quote request on the ETKO website: https://www.etko.com.tr/certifications/textile/quote-request ## Application Process At ETKO, we manage your application process transparently, quickly, and clearly. Our process consists of the following steps: 1. **Application and Information Exchange** — We gather preliminary information about your company's structure and production processes. 2. **Proposal and Contract** — We present a detailed proposal for the inspection process and sign a contract upon your approval. 3. **Pre-Audit Preparation** — This is the process of preparing the necessary documentation (chemical inventory, social compliance documents, etc.). 4. **On-Site Audit** — Expert ETKO auditors visit your facility and examine your compliance with the criteria on-site. 5. **Reporting and Certification** — After non-conformities are resolved (if any), the audit report is approved and your certificate is issued. ## Accreditations - GOTS: International Organic Accreditation Service - accreditation for certification programs worldwide. - National Organic Program (NOP): United States Department of Agriculture — NOP accredited certifying agent. - TR Organik & GLOBALGAP & İTU: Turkish Accreditation Agency (TURKAK) — Turkey's national accreditation body for conformity assessment. - COSMOS: International Organic Accreditation Service — accreditation for certification programs worldwide. - Textile Exchange Standards: International Organic Accreditation Service — accreditation for certification programs worldwide. - ISO/IEC 17065:2012: International Organic Accreditation Service — accreditation for certification programs worldwide. ## Countries of operation Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ukraine, Korea, China, Denmark, Germany, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Romania, Sweden, Bulgaria, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar ## Where can I find Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS) regulations and forms? ETKO's document center lists regulations, application forms, and current guidelines for this standard: https://www.etko.com.tr/certifications/textile/quote-request ## Related pages - HTML: https://www.etko.com.tr/certifications/textile/responsible-alpaca-standard - About ETKO: https://www.etko.com.tr/about - Contact: https://www.etko.com.tr/contact - Document center: https://www.etko.com.tr/documents?category=textile&standard=responsible-alpaca-standard