Direct help for wool growers
23/02/2009
Japanese apparel manufacturer Onward Kashiyama has contributed over $100,000 to a major Australian environmental initiative, the Australian Land Management Certification System (ALMCS).
The company set up a project called Onward Green in July 2008, with Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), to help improve the natural environment in Australian wool growing areas.
Over five months in 2008, stores throughout Japan promoted the Onward Green project, with special swing-tickets on garments to tell Japanese consumers the story of wool’s natural benefits and of Onward’s initiative to preserve the Australian environment in which it is grown.
On a recent visit to Australia, Onward’s general manager for product development and marketing, Hikosaburo Seike, said: “Onward is proud to support the ALMCS and through it, the Australian wool growers who are committed to caring for the Australian environment.”
AWI’s general manager product development and commercialisation Jimmy Jackson noted that the Onward’s initiative was the first ever example of an apparel company going directly to the source and helping with the understanding and extension of formalised, certification-based environmental practices.
“This is a unique arrangement because the money is going directly to activities that help wool growers improve environmental outcomes in ways that give them recognition and rewards,” he said.
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