Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS)

What is the Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS)?

Developed and owned by Textile Exchange, the Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS) is an international, voluntary standard that focuses on animal welfare and environmental sustainability in mohair production. As a sister standard to the RWS (Responsible Wool Standard), the RMS ensures that Angora goats are raised ethically and healthily, in strict accordance with the "Five Freedoms." It also requires farmers to manage their land in harmony with nature, protecting the ecological balance, and mandates that the resulting mohair is traced through a transparent chain of custody from farm to final product.

Key Technical Criteria of RMS Certification

The RMS enforces rigorous rules across the supply chain, from farm to consumer. The technical framework can be summarized as follows:

• Animal Welfare:

  • Angora goats must be raised in an environment free from hunger, thirst, pain, fear, and distress.

  • The standard requires that shearing be conducted professionally and without causing harm. Because Angora goats are highly susceptible to cold after being shorn, providing appropriate shelter and protection post-shearing is a strict mandate.

• Land Management and Environmental Impact:

  • Farmers must adopt sustainable land management practices to protect the biodiversity of pastures, improve soil health, and conserve water resources.

  • Grazing plans must be implemented to prevent overgrazing, and the use of environmentally harmful chemicals is heavily restricted.

• Chain of Custody:

  • Like other Textile Exchange standards, the RMS utilizes the Content Claim Standard (CCS) framework.

  • Once it leaves the farm, RMS-certified mohair is documented and physically tracked through every production stage (scouring, spinning, weaving, manufacturing) using Transaction Certificates (TCs). This strictly prevents it from being mixed with conventional mohair.

• Manufacturing Phase Audits: Production facilities in the supply chain (e.g., spinning mills) applying for RMS are not audited for chemical use, wastewater management, or social criteria; the audit strictly focuses on the physical chain of custody of the certified material.

Who this standard is for

RMS is for angora-goat farms and for processors that handle mohair under Textile Exchange chain of custody. It is the mohair sister of RWS, not a substitute certificate. A mill certified only to RWS cannot label mohair as RMS.

What is certified

• Angora goat farms: animal welfare, land management, social criteria
• CoC for mohair from farm/warehouse through combing, spinning, and product
• Transaction certificates for RMS-claimed shipments
• Sites that take legal ownership of RMS mohair

What this standard does not cover

• Sheep wool (RWS) and alpaca (RAS)
• Organic fibre claims
• Mohair quality grades (kid vs adult) as a substitute for RMS

Questions buyers and operators usually ask

We already hold RWS. Can we accept RMS mohair on the same certificate?

No. RMS is a separate standard and scope. The site needs RMS (farm or CoC as applicable) for mohair claims.

Does RMS cover dyeing and finishing social/chemical rules?

RMS CoC verifies mohair identity. Chemical and social processing rules for fashion products usually come from another standard the buyer names (for example GOTS or GRS), not from RMS alone.

Can RMS and conventional mohair share a warehouse?

Yes if identification and records prevent claim inflation. Unlabelled bales mixed in one pile are a typical finding.

Who starts the first TC?

The first certified supply-chain organisation that takes farm-certified mohair into CoC. A farm certificate by itself does not travel with a spinner’s invoice.

What to have ready before the audit

• Farm: goat records, health and land procedures
• Incoming RMS farm or CoC documents for each bale/lot
• Reconciliation of RMS input versus claimed output
• Commission processors listed in scope
• Artwork that says RMS, not RWS, on mohair products

Frequent findings

• RWS logo on a mohair sweater
• Uncertified combing between farm and spinner
• Claimed volume above purchased RMS mohair
• Buyer PO saying “responsible wool” for a mohair quality