Famous brands, such as Gucci, H&M and UNIQLO, have expressed an interest in using Mongolian cashmere. They have suggested that Mongolia prepares its cashmere in environmentally friendly and sustainable ways.

Ms Sherry Gu, the representative of H&M Asia said, “Some international brands have recently begun to stop production that is not environmentally friendly and violates animal rights. However, this does not mean that cashmere products will be completely halted. We are ready to purchase cashmere at a high price from Mongolia if it is prepared in a sustainable way, such as being environmentally friendly, and taken from healthy livestock without using child labour.”

A conference has been jointly organized by the UNDP and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry under the theme, ‘Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Systemic Change: The Case of Sustainable Cashmere in Mongolia’. This took place last week.

In her opening speech, UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Beate Trankmann noted that Mongolia has the opportunity to promote the values of traditional animal husbandry—livestock herding that is close to nature.

Mongolia produces 40 percent of the global cashmere.