• The Ryan Young Climate+ Awards recognize five leaders driving progress towards a lower impact textile industry with organic, recycled and regenerative solutions.

• Winners include “Climate Leaders” Rebecca Burgess of Fibershed, Prama Bhardwaj of Mantis World, Helene Smits of Recover™ and Margot Lyons of Coyuchi, as well as “Rising Stars” Annabelle Hutter of Säntis Textiles and Landon Nash of Tact & Stone.

• The annual awards have been established in memory of the late Ryan Young, Textile Exchange’s Chief Operating Officer from 2017 to 2020, and the driving force behind the organization’s Climate+ Strategy.

The five recipients have been honored for their work in driving progress towards the defining goal of Textile Exchange’s Climate+ Strategy: a 45 percent greenhouse gas reduction in the textile fiber and material production phase by 2030.

“Climate Leader” awards are dedicated to individuals, teams, or departments within an organization displaying an overall commitment to meeting the Climate+ strategy goals. Meanwhile, “Rising Star” awards recognize young leaders with up to three years’ sustainability experience who have already demonstrated impressive initiative and leadership.

The awards were established in memory of the late Ryan Young, Textile Exchange’s Chief Operating Officer from 2017 to 2020. In response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that countries must halve emissions from textile production by 2030 to avoid dangerous impacts from climate change, Young led the creation of the Climate+ strategy.

La Rhea Pepper, Founder and CEO at Textile Exchange, said: “We are honoring Ryan Young’s pioneering efforts with the creation of these awards. He often used to say, ‘Do we want to be someone who is part of the solution or someone who is part of the continued problem?’ I think he would agree that all of today’s winners want to lead the solutions.”

Helena Young, Ryan Young’s wife, science educator, and climate change activist, said: “Ryan cared deeply about sustainability in the true essence of the word. He wanted everyone to stop, listen, and acknowledge their impact on the world today and on future generations. He encouraged companies to be strategic and ambitious with their goals on reducing carbon emissions. He understood the urgency of the problem and the responsibility of companies to create systemic change. If he were here today, he would be in awe of the creativity, leadership, and dedication of all the distinguished awardees we are honoring.”

Beth Jensen, Climate+ Strategy Director at Textile Exchange, said: “It is exciting to honor several award recipients who are just starting out in their careers alongside others who have been driving impact reduction for many years. The sense of urgency we face as an industry and a global community has never been greater, and it’s only through efforts like these that we will have any chance of evolving the way we do business in our industry toward preserving a livable and abundant way of life for all.”