LONDON — Peter Ackroyd has been named chairman of Campaign for Wool with immediate effect.
Ackroyd, who has been with the organization since 2009 and previously served as chief operating officer, will succeed Nicholas Coleridge, who will focus on his new role as the 43rd provost of Eton College and chair of Historic Royal Palaces.
An industry veteran, Ackroyd worked as president of the International Wool Textile Organization, and global strategic adviser for the Australian Wool Innovation/Woolmark Company during his five decades-spanning career.
Coleridge said, “It has been an immensely enjoyable and rewarding assignment, but now it is time to hand over the reins. Who better than Peter Ackroyd to take over the role, having worked so closely with me for so many years? His knowledge of the international wool sector is unparalleled, and I know I am leaving the organization in very safe hands.”
With King Charles III continuing as the organization’s patron, Ackroyd will help the wool sector navigate the complex issues looming in the industry, by working closely with the International Wool Textile Organization on the challenge wool faces with the European Union’s Environmental Footprint legislation.
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The organization said this methodology has the potential to label wool as part of new legislation making up a portion of the EU’s new Digital Product Passports set to launch in 2026.
“Never has there been a greater need for the wool-producing nations to come together and shout as loudly as they can about just how damaging synthetic fibers can be for the planet,” Ackroyd said.
“At a point in time where experts and advocates widely agree that humans are generating waste worldwide at unmanageable and unsustainable levels, we are also seeing the proliferation of synthetic materials, coupled with disinformation and an escalation in greenwashing by fast-fashion retailers. This is alarming,” he added.
Campaign for Wool, which affiliates with British Wool, The Woolmark Company, Cape Wools and Campaign for Wool New Zealand, counts Anderson & Sheppard, Christopher Raeburn, Johnstons of Elgin, Vivienne Westwood and many more as its supporters.
In 2024, the organization hosted more than 20 events and activities during Wool Month in October with more than 3,000 guests in attendance. The Campaign for Wool also launched a three-year-long collaboration with Aardman, highlighting British wool and New Zealand wool and wool’s natural benefits in flooring.
