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.