US Cotton Trust Protocol names Daren Abney as executive director

The US Cotton Trust Protocol, set up in 2020 to define the standards of sustainable cotton cultivation in the USA, has appointed Daren Abney, formerly with Lenzing, Better Cotton Initiative and Textile Exchange, to the post of executive director.

Abney was head of business development for the American markets at Lenzing, an Austrian cellulose fibres (wood pulp) specialist. Prior to that, he had worked for nearly seven years at the Better Cotton Initiative, and almost as long at Textile Exchange, an NGO that advocates fighting against climate change in the textile and apparel industry.

“[Abney’s] cotton and textile supply chain knowledge, combined with an unparalleled understanding of sustainability initiatives and a strong track record of building relationships with diverse stakeholders, will be hugely beneficial as the program charts its path forward,” said Gary Adams, president of the US Cotton Trust Protocol.

Abney will notably oversee the activity of the US Climate Smart Cotton Program, a five-year pilot project that is part of the USDA’s Climate Smart initiative, designed to measure and improve cotton’s carbon footprint, in which the US Trust Protocol has been appointed as lead.

The US Cotton Trust Protocol offers a monitoring and advisory service on cotton cultivation, tracking the sector’s operations via six sustainability metrics (cultivated area, land fertility, sustainability of inputs, water management, carbon emissions and energy management).

The organisation currently includes over 1,600 between brands, retailers and manufacturers. These include Levi Strauss & Co., Gap, Old Navy, J. Crew, American Eagle Outfitters and Ralph Lauren. Thirty countries from America, Africa and Asia-Pacific are represented among the organisation’s members.