Artistic Milliners’ efforts to promote better cotton practices were honored at the Textile Exchange Conference this week in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Pakistani denim manufacturer’s cotton team received the Ryan Young Climate+ Award in the Climate Leader Team category for its work building strong partnerships through the Milliner Cotton Initiative. Together with WWF Pakistan, the program has resulted in projects to improve soil health and promote better land management practices. The program has also led to the creation of mobile apps used by more than 500 farmers and six ginners to facilitate transaction data collection.
La Rhea Pepper, Textile Exchange CEO, said the team comprised of Mian Saqib Sohail, Akbar Ali and Anum Zahid demonstrates “progressive thinking ahead of their time.”
“Being planet-positive is a value that Artistic Milliners lives by and is intrinsic to all initiatives by our Cotton Projects team,” Ahmed said. “We thank Textile Exchange for recognizing our efforts, as we continue to foster an inclusive ecosystem conducive to climate positive actions and social fairness.”
The Ryan Young Climate+ Awards are held in honor of Textile Exchange’s late former chief operation officer Ryan Young who led the development of the organization’s Climate+ Vision in 2019.
Other recipients include the J.Crew Group Sustainability & DEIB teams, which were recognized for their strategic partnerships in regenerative agriculture, and Shreyaskar Chaudhary, CEO of Pratibha Syntex, for undertaking sustainability initiatives from farm to finish.
Peter Bartsch, who spent close to a decade as Lenzing Group’s vice president of corporate sustainability, received Textile Exchange’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement award.
