Better Cotton, the leading global initiative for cotton sustainability, has announced significant updates to its Council. The organization has appointed Bill Ballenden, Head of Sustainability and Innovation at Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) Cotton, and Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Director for Sustainable Fashion at Solidaridad, as its new co-chairs. Both bring diverse expertise and a shared commitment to advancing sustainability and traceability within the cotton industry.
Ballenden and Hoek will serve as ambassadors for Better Cotton, guiding policy decisions and promoting collaboration across the cotton value chain. They expressed enthusiasm about their roles, aiming to enhance sustainability and benefit the entire supply chain from farm to fabric through their combined expertise.
Joining the Council are five new members: Doug Forster, Chief Sourcing Officer at J.Crew Group; Elodie Gilart, Senior Sustainability Manager at Marks & Spencer; Nadia Bilal, Managing Director of Spinning at Nishat Chunian; Vicente Sando, Executive Coordinator at FONPA (Mozambique’s National Forum of Cotton Farmers); and re-elected members Rajan Bhopal from Pan UK and Shahid Zia from the Lok Sanjh Foundation.
Forster emphasized J.Crew's goal to source 100 per cent of its cotton sustainably by 2025, while Gilart highlighted Marks & Spencer’s commitment to traceability. Bilal will focus on capacity building and innovation in Asia’s cotton sector, and Sando aims to enhance transparency and inclusivity for small-scale farmers.
Departing members include Gerson Fajardo of Walmart, Pierre Chebab of LDC, and Kevin Quinlan. The Better Cotton Council remains central to shaping the organization’s strategic direction and advancing its mission to support cotton communities and protect the environment.
