#Raw Materials

2025-03-06

Aid by Trade Foundation announces new Head of Business Development

Valéa Vadaleau will join the Aid by Trade Foundation team as Head of Business Development on March 1, 2025. She succeeds Christian Barthel, who will retire in November 2025 after 18 years at the Hamburg-based foundation.

With extensive experience in the international textile industry and a strong background in environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks, Valéa Vadaleau will strengthen the Foundation’s management team. The fashion manager has held various management positions in the German textile trade since 2010 and was and was responsible for the successful establishment and expansion of Peek & Cloppenburg’s sourcing office in Hong Kong. In the course of her career, she specialized in the area of sustainability. Most recently, through her own company, KYBELE, she advised companies on the development and implementation of sustainable supply chains.

Valea Vadaleau © 2025 Aid by Trade Foundation

Tina Stridde, Managing Director of the Aid by Trade Foundation, says: “Her expertise in the international textile industry, in strategic planning and in the implementation of sustainable textile supply chains, as well as her leadership experience will make a decisive contribution to the further development of the Aid by Trade Foundation and will set an important course for the future of the organization. I look forward to working with her. At the same time, I would like to sincerely thank Christian Barthel for his many years of commitment to the organization. His expertise, creative power and determination have made a decisive contribution to the foundation’s success.”

Christian Barthel began his career in 1986 as a sourcing manager at the Otto Group and spent 26 years for the company in Turkey and China before becoming Head of Business Development, where he was responsible for the sales and supply chain activities of the Aid by Trade Foundation. Until his retirement, he will remain Managing Director of ATAKORA GmbH, which holds the exclusive marketing rights for the Aid by Trade Foundation’s standards and ensures the smooth integration of the sustainable cotton and cashmere textile fibers into international supply chains.

The Good Cashmere Standard expands Animal Welfare Assessment on audited farms

With the Animal-related Animal Welfare Assessment (ARAWA), the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) conducts a pioneering project for the second consecutive year in 2025, parallel to the independent verifications of The Good Cashmere Standard® (GCS). ARAWA assessments provide a comprehensive overview of the health status of a herd on an audited farm, going beyond standard verification procedures. They are inherently complex, which still makes them a rarity in the standard sector, but offer support in identifying non-conformities and provide a holistic overview of the herd's well-being. Therefore, the Aid by Trade Foundation will continue this crucial project and even further expand it by 2027.

Aid by Trade Foundation reaches new milestones in supply chain transparency

The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF) is reaching new milestones as it leads the way towards greater physical traceability for Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) cotton. With around 700 suppliers and producers in a total of 25 countries, the Aid by Trade Foundation has reached a new record number of partners who can trace CmiA cotton from the product back to its origin. This is more than double the previous year’s figure.

Cashmere producers stress the importance of The Good Cashmere Standard®

At the invitation of the Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), over 70 experts from the cashmere production and supply chain, as well as other specialists, met at the GCS Unit Meeting in Shanghai, China to discuss the progress and new objectives of The Good Cashmere Standard (GCS). The meeting focused on implementation and verification of the standard, important aspects of animal welfare and the importance of the standard in the global textile market.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Bremen Cotton Exchange: Fritz A. Grobien re-elected as President

The members of the Bremen Cotton Exchange have re-elected Fritz A. Grobien as President during the association’s 152nd General Assembly on June 18, 2026. The election confirms the organization’s commitment to maintaining its role as a leading international platform for the cotton and fiber industry amid a period of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Ibrahim Fibres and Trützschler: A strong partnership enters its next phase with the TC 30Si

For more than two decades, Ibrahim Fibres and Trützschler have grown side by side, driven by a shared ambition to continuously improve spinning performance, strengthen technology leadership and set new benchmarks in the textile industry. Today, Ibrahim Fibres is a leading yarn and polyester staple fiber manufacturer in Pakistan. The company operates the largest number of Trützschler cards in the country, with more than 200 machines running across its mills in Faisalabad, and plays an important role in one of Asia’s largest textile industries.