APRIL 7 2022 – A new report on “The use of merino wool in sportswear”, done by global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS shows that each of the ten largest global sports brands still use merino wool in their product range. What many consumers don't know is that these are often uncertified and therefore very likely to come from origins that produce mulesed wool. The cruel method of mulesing, in which lambs a few weeks old are brutally cut, is still used, although painless alternatives have long been available.

Nike, as the world's largest sportswear manufacturer, stands out in the report lagging behind its two biggest competitors Puma and Adidas in terms of animal welfare, as both have already made plans to switch to certified mulesing-free wool (2025 and 2030 respectively). FOUR PAWS now calls on Nike to also take this important step towards more animal welfare and spare millions of lambs every year immense suffering and pain.

Wool warms and cools at the same time. The sportswear industry has been making use of this flexible feature for years. Merino wool can be found in yoga pants as well as in cycling jerseys and running trousers. As the popularity of merino wool has increased since the pandemic, so has the responsibility of manufacturers for animal welfare.

Mulesing, a systemic problem

FOUR PAWS has commissioned an independent laboratory in the UK to examine wool samples from various companies. The Australian wool industry, by far the world's largest producer (80%) of fine merino wool, specifies that in order to qualify as typical Australian “fine merino”, wool fibers must not fall above a maximum mean diameter of 22 microns. All samples had a mean diameter below 22 microns, which strongly suggests that the merino products contain Australian merino. When full supply chain traceability is not practiced and with only 14 per cent of Australian wool free of mulesing, the risks and welfare issue are obvious.

"The problem of mulesing is not an isolated case, but an industry problem. Nike, as a global leader, has an opportunity here to take a strong stance on animal welfare and get the industry to rethink quickly," said Picallo Gil.

Background 

FOUR PAWS has been campaigning for an end to the cruel mulesing procedure for years. In 2021, more than 30 global fashion brands wrote an open letter to the Australian wool industry to end the mutilation of lambs just a few weeks old. Australia is the only country in the world where the method of mulesing is still practiced. Mulesing involves cutting out large chunks of skin from two to ten-week-old lambs with sharp scissors without anesthesia. For the lambs, this means fear and stress, but above all great pain that can last for days. There have long been alternatives to this, such as switching to sheep breeds that are less susceptible to parasites. There are also certificates that trace wool back to the farms that keep the animals, in order to exclude cruel methods.