Responsible Wool Standard for UK & EU wool

Shipley, UK – 4 November, 2025 - RWS has had great acceptance from the consumer facing side of the wool industry but a troubled relationship with European wool growers. However, 9 years after the standard was launched, it finally has a British partner in H Dawson and its family of brands, HDWool and The Woolkeepers®. The Textile Exchange standard has brought better practice to southern hemisphere farms where flocks are thousands large, but historically the certification pricing did not work in the UK & Europe, where farms are smaller, typically just 200-500 sheep. Additionally matters like mulesing do not apply in the UK, due to different conditions.

In collaboration with The Textile Exchange, The Woolkeepers® programme has become the first - and the only - Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) farm group in the UK and Europe, meaning HDWool is now able to offer a fully RWS certified wool wadding insulation which works in conjunction with the now lower entry priced certification for smaller farms. This is backed up by a commitment to sourcing 100% RWS-certified Woolkeepers® wool by 2030.

The Woolkeepers® community is the best suited mechanism to bring the rigorous RWS certification to the UK. This group offers a clear and supportive pathway to farmers so they can drive real profitability of their wool whilst embarking on a journey towards higher animal welfare and land standards. The Woolkeepers® farmers can attain the highest income for their wool by ultimately transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture practices – whose positive outcomes are verified by the Savory Institute. This provides a solution to everything that requires a Digital Product Passport and the incoming EU Green Deal’s EcoDesign for Sustainable Product Regulation. HDWool was the first textile to achieve the Red Tractor kitemark - the British forerunner of Woolkeepers® RWS which is now the highest wool-focused animal welfare certification in the UK.

HDWool produce wool insulation using British wool, better known as strong (or coarse) wool and selecting high crimp and lower micron fibre producing breeds which are much better adapted to garment insulation. This means it retains the thermoregulation benefits of wool to both insulate and offer cooling benefits dependent on the conditions, added to the exothermic reaction of wool in the wet, and the absorption of smell facilitated by the anti-bacterial natural qualities inherent in the product. HDWool Active RWS range uses a blend of wool with (non-GMO) PLA Biopolymer, which creates a stable high loft structure to help reduce felting during laundering (which then helps longevity of insulation, comfort, & permeability qualities). HDWool Pure RWS range uses mechanical high loft engagement of fibres to produce a pure 100% biodegradable and highly breathable insulation for dry clean only applications. RWS certified HDWool is also a softer version of the traditional HDWool product range, so is even better suited for use in apparel (in a range of weights from 60 to 240 gsm).

As Jo Dawson explains “Global recognition of the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) brand has been growing strongly over the past few years as a leading benchmark for wool grown to leading animal welfare and land management standards. Due to their relatively smaller size, British farms have so far found it commercially prohibitive to achieve this certification. By setting up the first and only RWS farm group in the UK and Europe through our Woolkeepers®, we are now delighted to be able to support British farmers to gain RWS certification and in turn ensure that British grown RWS Wool is available in commercial volumes and prices”.

The HDWool product will be seen at Performance Days in Munich 28th/29th October, and also at the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon in November before going onto ISPO in Munich at the end of November. It will be on the stand of their distributors (Rudholm of Sweden).

HDWool is part of the H Dawson stable of brands with a mission of using wool as a force for good. Their drive to deliver impact led to the birth of Woolkeepers®, a community of farmers with a goal to make wool growing profitable again. Since 1888 they have been on a journey to drive positive change. They are proud of achieving many industry firsts: the first commercially traceable wool in the UK, the first fully traceable HDWool garment insulation made from British wool, the first British wool animal welfare standard with Red Tractor and now the first commercially available British wool certified to Responsible Wool Standard.