H&M, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, has partnered with South African wool farmers and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to produce clothing that is sustainable for consumers, manufacturers and the environment.
By Fredalette Uys, contributor at African Farming
Wool produced through regenerative farming practices offers a solution to the textile industry’s need for a long-lasting, low-impact material.
With a third of South Africa covered in grasslands – a vital grazing resource for livestock farmers – restoring these grasslands is key to linking healthy ecosystems with productive, sustainable farming. It improves soil health, boosts biodiversity and helps farmers stay resilient in the face of climate change.
The Drakensberg grasslands in the North Eastern Cape are also the source of many major river systems, which is why the project began here, working with both commercial and communal wool farmers.
The Environmental Challenge
The textile industry leaves one of the heaviest footprints on the environment. The industry has a significant environmental footprint, driven largely by resource-intensive production processes. From the cultivation of raw materials to dyeing and finishing, clothing manufacturing consumes vast amounts of water, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and can lead to soil and water pollution.
H&M is well aware of its share in this problem and is committed to being part of the solution. For more than 15 years the group has been partnering with WWF – a global leader in conservation and environmental advocacy – to address its climate impact rather than trying to tackle the problem alone.
“WWF has expertise in nature, environmental issues and what is needed to solve these issues. H&M Group can contribute to the transformation needed through its size, resources and collaborative network,” says Jennie Granström, H&M Group’s Head of Biodiversity and Land Use Impact, about this partnership.
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Jaco du Toit, WWF’s Biodiversity Policy Manager, adds that combining their experience and networks creates an opportunity for meaningful, urgent change in the textile industry. He stresses that biodiversity and climate are tightly linked.
“The way we use and transform land for farming and forestry is one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss – and it accounts for 22% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is itself one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss – and we can’t solve the climate crisis without addressing biodiversity loss.
“If ecosystems collapse to the point where they no longer provide clean soil, water, fertile land and pollination, a climate-stable future will not be possible.”
He explains that functional river systems and intact forests and grasslands are the solution to extreme weather events that are increasingly making headlines. Healthy grasslands’ root systems bind with soil and improve their water-holding capacity so that rain can flow more gradually into rivers. Under drought conditions, the grassland retains more of the available water. The protective layer prevents soil erosion, which is already leaving a big mark on the Eastern Cape landscape.
Wool to the Rescue
According to Granström, even relatively small projects like this can have a big impact, as unsustainable cotton and wool production has serious environmental effects through soil erosion, pollution and overgrazing.
H&M is running similar regenerative farming projects with cotton farmers in India and wool farmers in Argentina.
“This combination of ecological significance and sourcing potential makes it a priority for us in our efforts to align business decisions with nature-positive outcomes,” says Granström. “These projects are strategically selected to be in places that are critical for biodiversity conservation. They serve as proof points that farming with nature rather than against it benefits people, business and the planet.”
An assessment of H&M’s biodiversity footprint showed that the company has a significant impact on South African nature through the volume of wool it purchases and the biodiversity richness of the region – which made addressing that impact a priority.
Wool is a key fibre in H&M’s products, most of which is already sourced from RWS-certified South African farms. The group has a materials vision for 2030 to increase the amount of regenerative and sustainable materials it purchases.
“South Africa holds exceptionally high natural value, with unique ecosystems and biodiversity hot spots that are under pressure. By sourcing wool from South Africa, we can support responsible land management practices that contribute to the protection and regeneration of these landscapes,” explains Granström.
South Africa is a leading global wool supplier, with well-developed infrastructure for RWS-certified wool production and a growing commitment to sustainability.
H&M’s goal is to purchase wool directly from participating farmers in the projects. H&M has already been able to start purchasing South African wool thanks to cooperation with BKB’s NXT programme. According to Granström, the project with WWF is still on a smaller scale and its goal is to eventually purchase wool directly from farmers involved in the project.
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A Practical Recovery Plan
Launched in 2021, the joint regenerative agriculture project is based in the Eastern Cape Drakensberg grasslands around Nqanqarhu (Maclear), Tlokoeng (Mount Fletcher) and Rhodes. It covers the area earmarked for a new grasslands national park that will be known as the Greater Grassland Living Lands initiative, to be declared at the end of the year as part of SANParks’ 2040 Vision. The project is aligned with this initiative.
Participating commercial, emerging and communal farmers receive support to adapt their farming practices so that grazing follows regenerative principles. This creates regenerative grazing that is climate-resilient with natural grasslands that are returned to their former glory, while producing regenerative wool as the end product.
For most of these farmers, grasslands are their main source of grazing for sheep. Because sheep are selective grazers, careful grazing management is needed to protect veld diversity
Farmers are assisted with planning rotational grazing, ensuring adequate rest periods, as well as developing management plans for carrying capacity, wildlife conflict mitigation and improved fire management.
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Communities are also supported in clearing invasive plants to restore river systems to make them more resilient and to reduce erosion on their lands – a major challenge because of grassland degradation.
With a diverse group of farmers producing wool for the export market in South Africa, Du Toit stresses that there is a big difference in the way communal farmers and private landowners are supported.
For communal farmers, several stakeholders are involved when decisions are made about grazing management. To manage the land collectively and with clear goals, the farmers are grouped into grazing associations where they make joint decisions about rotational grazing and veld management. A good starting point for these associations was to group together farmers who already share shearing facilities.
During the project period, 389 community members have been supported to establish three grazing associations in the communities of Thotaneng, Madlangela-Sera and Mabua. The condition of the veld in each of these associations has been assessed, which helps members make decisions about grazing and resting their pastures. Between the associations, 4 320 hectares of communal land have been secured for more sustainable grazing practices thanks to conservation agreements with WWF.
Farmers have also been assisted to improve animal health management, reducing grazing pressure on the land and ultimately increasing their income. Over the three years, vaccinations were provided for 5 039 sheep belonging to communal farmers. Communal farmers also received various training sessions, including fire management, herder management practices that put less stress on animals, and financial management. In addition, 44 community members were trained in agro-ecology and received seeds, tools and equipment for this purpose.
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One of the lessons learnt was that a more community-based approach is needed in communal areas since veld resting only worked once all community members – even those without sheep – were involved in the conversation. Younger members of the community in particular felt excluded at first. Activities that involved the whole community, such as sports days, created opportunities for everyone to learn why and how these systems work. As a result, the name of the “grazing associations” was changed to “rangeland associations”.
According to Du Toit, farmers are very grateful for the chance to build their capacity thanks to the project. “Communal farmers have had very little formal training and support, and are very grateful for any capacity building they receive. Even basic tenets of modern sheep farming, such as vaccinations, were not part of their practices and the project helped them to access these, which in turn reduces stress on the land.”
Established commercial farmers, on the other hand, are all experienced businesspeople with access to the latest sheep-farming science. They participate in the project because being good stewards of their farms for future generations is important to them.
For these farmers, the project’s main contribution is linked to veld condition assessments and training on managing human-wildlife conflict. “Even for these farmers it is not easy to get professional Veld Condition Assessments done and the project also made a key contribution to their land through the clearing of invasive plants that farmers themselves did not have the resources to deal with.”
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Emerging farmers with their own private land need a slightly different approach, Du Toit explains. “They have more resources to follow a sustainable farming approach but usually have less experience, and their land is often more severely degraded due to overgrazing by previous owners. They need more support to understand standards like RWS [Responsible Wool Standard] and to develop grazing plans.”
Participation is completely voluntary. The wider target area was identified as part of the process to determine the most strategic area for the Grasslands National Park, but within that framework, all farmers in the area were invited to join the project. “The farmers we are working with were the first ones to show interest. We hope to have more resources in the future so we can engage with more farmers – commercial, emerging and communal.”
Early Signs of Success
Du Toit explains that changes in natural systems take a long time to become established, but there are promising early signs thanks to the project.
Drought conditions in 2024, followed by wildfires, made it difficult to measure grassland health over the four-year period, but Du Toit remains confident that proven results will soon be available.
The first positive signs are already visible. Community members on communal land report that, for the first time in years, they are again seeing wild animals such as tick-birds/oxpeckers and duikers on their land. Communal farmers have also started noticing medicinal plants, bird species and some wildlife returning to their grazing areas, thanks to sustainable management practices. They have become more aware of their role in supporting local biodiversity.
Communal farmers now better understand the connection between biodiversity and productive grazing. They have observed that they produce more wool from their land when the grassland is more diverse, which ultimately leads to improved profitability.
Du Toit highlights one example where participating farmers contacted him about a large number of dead crowned cranes found on their land. “In the past, such an incident would not have been reported anywhere, as farmers did not have a relationship with local conservation organisations,” he explains.
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A positive and inclusive milestone was reached when a woman was elected as chairperson of one of the grazing associations – a first for the region.
According to Du Toit, feedback from small-scale farmers on traditional communal land indicates the project has made a significant difference in how they manage their shared land and how they now think about their practices.
The expertise they have gained in grazing evaluation and the training workshops have been invaluable in improving their knowledge of sustainable farming.
One of the main challenges, according to the community, is uncontrolled soil erosion. The project is helping to identify areas where restoration and erosion protection can be implemented through low-cost interventions, using community volunteers who apply what they have learnt across a wider area.
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