Mulesing-free wool – how we look after animal welfare
Short answer: The merino wool in our garments comes from farms certified to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), where mulesing is not permitted. The Eilif collection is made from Norwegian wool from farms in Hustadvika, and mulesing is not practised in Norway. Dyrevernalliansen (the Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance) places Lanullva at the highest level in its overview of clothing brands that set animal welfare requirements for their wool.
What is mulesing?
Mulesing is a painful procedure in which folds of skin around the tail are removed from merino sheep to prevent infestation by fly larvae. It is carried out mainly in Australia. The procedure is controversial, and many people therefore look for wool from sheep that have not been subjected to it.
How we document animal welfare
| Stage | What is documented |
|---|---|
| The farms | The merino wool comes from farms audited against the RWS by independent certification bodies. The standard prohibits mulesing and sets requirements for animal welfare, grazing land and working conditions. |
| The spinning mill | The yarn is spun by Südwolle Group and delivered with an RWS transaction certificate (TC), which documents that it is made from certified wool. |
| The knitting mills | The garments are knitted by partners in Spain, Lithuania, Sweden and Finland, including Tex 51 in Spain, which is RWS-certified. |
| With us | Lanullva is itself RWS-certified. We design the garments in Norway and follow up on quality from the Atlantic Road (Atlanterhavsveien) on Averøy. |
If you want to know more about what the standard requires, and what it does not cover, you can read what RWS-certified merino wool means. You can follow the whole journey from farm to garment in Where does your wool sweater come from?
The wool in each series
| Series | Wool | Animal welfare |
|---|---|---|
| Havbris, Hustadvika, Everyday, Anti-Tex, Klassisk | Merino wool | RWS-certified farms, mulesing not permitted |
| Eilif | Norwegian wool from farms in Hustadvika | Not RWS. Mulesing is not practised in Norway. |
What RWS is not
We want to be honest about what the certification means. RWS does not trace your garment back to one specific farm, because wool from several certified farms is often mixed. Nor does the standard say anything about how fine or soft the wool is. What it does give you is a concrete point of reference that the farms have been checked by an independent third party.
Independent assessment
Dyrevernalliansen has an overview of clothing brands that sell wool with animal welfare requirements. There, Lanullva is listed among the brands at the highest level, alongside brands that use RWS- or ZQ-certified wool. See the full overview at Dyrevernalliansen.
Questions and answers
Is Lanullva's wool mulesing-free?
Yes. The merino wool comes from RWS-certified farms where mulesing is not permitted, and the Norwegian wool in the Eilif collection comes from Norway, where mulesing is not practised.
Are all the garments RWS-certified?
Our merino wool comes from RWS-certified farms. The Eilif collection is made from Norwegian wool and is not RWS-certified.
Where does the merino wool come from?
The merino wool comes from RWS-certified farms. It is combed, spun and dyed into yarn by Südwolle Group, and the yarn is delivered with a transaction certificate documenting that it is made from certified wool.
Where are the garments made?
The garments are designed by us in Norway and knitted by partners in Spain, Lithuania, Sweden and Finland. We knit the wool blankets ourselves on the Atlantic Road.
Last updated 13 November 2026.