Photo credit: Eren Ozalay/Better Cotton Initiative. Location: Geneva, Switzerland, 2026. Description: Better Cotton Initiative council members (from left to right): Jonathan Worthy-Pauling, Bob Dall’alba, Nadia Bilal, Shanoo Saran, Doug Forster, Lene Wendland, Bill Ballenden, Nick Weatherill, Vicente Sando, Tamar Hoek, Agata Smeets, Shahid Zia, Danique Lodewijks, Ramisetty Murali.

Following the latest Council election, Danique Lodewijks, Sustainable Raw Materials Manager at BESTSELLER, has been elected in the Retailer, Brand and Buyers (RBB) category.

Ashok Hegde of OLAM Agri, representing the Suppliers and Manufacturers category, and Bob Dall’alba, of Cotton Australia representing the Producer Organisations, have both been re-elected to the Council.

We have also welcomed two new members who succeed outgoing representatives from the same organisations. Agata Smeets has succeeded Daniel Fibiger for Gap Inc. in the RBB category, with Jonathan Worthy-Pauling replacing Rajan Bhopal for Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) in the Civil Society category.

Meanwhile, sustainability leaders Shanoo Saran and Lene Wendland have been elected as independent members. Finally, Doug Forster of J Crew Madewell and Tamar Hoek of Solidaridad, who also serves as co-chair of the Council, have been re-appointed.

Nick Weatherill, CEO of the Better Cotton Initiative, said: “As the Better Cotton Initiative continues to evolve, the Council will play a vital role in helping to steer the organisation over the next two years. Our new and returning Council members bring valuable expertise from across the cotton value chain, and their experience will be essential in guiding BCI’s strategic direction and governance.”

Tamar Hoek, co-chair of the Better Cotton Initiative Council, said: “I am proud to continue serving for a further two years as co-chair of the Better Cotton Initiative Council. Our newly elected Council members can call on decades of experience in sustainability, responsible sourcing and multi-stakeholder collaboration. That breadth of knowledge will be invaluable as we help guide BCI’s work in the years ahead.”

Meeting the Council members

Danique Lodewijks leads global sustainability strategy for materials across more than 20 brands at BESTSELLER. With over 15 years of experience, she has worked across sustainable supply chains, traceability and due diligence, helping to build direct-to-farm and regenerative sourcing partnerships and strengthen credible chain-of-custody systems.

Ashok Hegde is CEO of Olam Agri’s Fibre, Agri-Industrials and Ag Service businesses. With over 30 years at Olam, he has led cotton, edible oils, sugar, rubber, risk and IT globally. He also serves as a Director of the International Cotton Association and a member of the Singapore Exchange Rubber Committee.

Bob Dall’alba is a director, consultant and mentor with more than 50 years’ experience across agriculture, cotton and global markets. Former Olam Australia Country Head and Queensland Cotton executive, he chairs P&J Harris & Sons’ Advisory Board and Colly Commodities’ Marketing Board.

Agata Smeets is Head of Environment & Product Sustainability at Gap Inc., leading sustainability across Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. Her work spans climate, water, chemistry, circularity, preferred fibres, claims and traceability.

Jonathan Worthy-Pauling joined PAN UK as Director in 2025, bringing with him three decades of experience working on agricultural systems to improve equity, health and sustainability. Before joining PAN UK, he served as Chief Executive of the Alexandra Rose Charity, where he helped pioneer the use of financial incentives to improve access to healthy food for people on low incomes across the UK.

Shanoo Saran brings over 20 years of global experience across agriculture, supply chain development, innovative finance and public-private engagement. Her career has included leadership roles with the Food Systems for the Future Institute, Rabobank, Mercy Corps’ AgriFin programme, Farm to Market Alliance and the United Nations World Food Programme.

Lene Wendland is an internationally recognised expert in corporate sustainability. She spent over two decades with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and contributed directly to the drafting of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. She currently serves in advisory roles with the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, amfori and the International Olympic Committee.

Doug Forster is a senior sourcing executive in apparel and retail supply chains. As J.Crew’s Chief Sourcing Officer, he leads global sourcing, sustainability and compliance, building on prior leadership roles at Ascena, Chico’s, Loyaltex, Yesim North America and Gap Inc., where he drove transformation, growth and operational performance.

Tamar Hoek is an international strategy and sustainability leader with more than 15 years’ experience across business, government, civil society and multi-stakeholder initiatives. At Solidaridad, she leads the global fashion portfolio in over 15 countries and serves as Chair of Cascale, driving practical systems change.

The latest appointments reinforce BCI’s commitment to balanced multistakeholder representation and informed governance across the cotton value chain. Together, the Council’s new and returning members bring expertise from civil society, retail and sourcing, producer organisations and independent governance, helping to ensure BCI is well positioned to navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead.