Cashmere Specialist Joins AbTF Board of Trustees
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Hamburg, 2026-06-25. The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is pleased to welcome Brian Yu, the chief executive officer of the Artwell Group, to its board of trustees. As CEO, Brian Yu developed Artwell into the world’s largest supplier of responsibly produced cashmere knitwear.
Brian Yu, the CEO of the Artwell Group, has an excellent international reputation as a promoter of sustainability, innovation, and transparency in the textile industry. As an advocate of animal welfare, Brian Yu co-authored a cashmere goat welfare standard—the Farm Animal Welfare Requirements Cashmere Goat standard of the International Cooperation Committee of Animal Welfare (ICCAW) in China—and worked to promote the testing of a number of traceability tools in cashmere production. For The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS), the complete traceability of its responsibly produced cashmere fibres has always been central. This traceability is guaranteed by TextileGenesis’s well established and technologically innovative platform.
“In Brian Yu, we welcome a distinguished advocate of sustainability and innovation in the textile industry to the ranks of the AbTF Board of Trustees. We look forward to working together to further expand the role of AbTF and its standards in sustainable cotton and cashmere production,” says Tina Stridde, the managing director of the Aid by Trade Foundation.
“My motivation in joining the Board of Trustees is rooted in a strong commitment to advancing sustainability and responsibility within the textile industry,” says Brian Yu, adding, “I believe that, through collective effort, we can enhance transparency, empower communities, and promote ethically produced textiles worldwide.”
With more than 20 years of experience in leadership positions in the textile sector, Brian Yu has led a globally active team of over 2,500 employees in Inner Mongolia, Eastern China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Vietnam since 2018 as the CEO of Artwell. He was previously a member of the advisory board of AbTF’s The Good Cashmere Standard.
Press Contact
Christina Ben Bella, e-mail: christina.benbella@abt-foundation.org Holger Diedrich, e-mail: holger.diedrich@abt-foundation.org
Aid by Trade Foundation | Werner-Otto-Straße 13 b | 22197 Hamburg | Deutschland
About The Good Cashmere Standard®
Through The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS), the Aid by Trade Foundation has been setting the benchmark for sustainable cashmere production since 2019. It has since become the largest standard for verified sustainable cashmere fibres from Inner Mongolia. GCS criteria cover the most important aspects of cashmere production, having been developed with the aims of conserving nature and improving both the welfare of cashmere goats and the living conditions of goat farmers. In addition, GCS creates transparency in the final product by ensuring that only products provably containing verified cashmere fibres can bear the label of The Good Cashmere Standard. Learn more at: www.thegoodcashmerestandard.org
About the Aid by Trade Foundation
Founded in 2005 by the entrepreneur Prof. Dr Michael Otto, the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is now an internationally renowned non-profit organisation that works throughout the world to promote sustainable raw materials. Its activities make a decisive and measurable contribution to improving the living conditions of people and animals while protecting the environment. AbTF takes a practical approach by creating and maintaining a variety of standards to verify raw materials: Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA), Cotton made in Africa Organic (CmiA Organic), Regenerative Cotton Standard® (RCS), and The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS). With changes in the climate and the markets increasingly posing challenges for textile companies and small-scale farmers, the standards have a fundamental role to play in ensuring their resilience and future viability. AbTF collaborates closely with industry experts and with specialists in animal protection and nature conservation. More information at: www.aidbytrade.org
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