Jordan Lea, Vice President of Sustainable Materials at Olam Agri, joined the agribusiness in 2023, as regenerative agriculture was gaining momentum across the US cotton sector. His role focuses on identifying practical ways to advance regenerative agriculture with cotton growers through investments in soil health, climate resilience, natural resource stewardship, and farm productivity.
“Regenerative agriculture is about creating resilient farming systems that can adapt to changing conditions while continuing to produce the cotton that our customers, communities, and supply chains depend on,” says Jordan.
Olam Agri is a merchant and Group Manager for the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in the United States, which supports producer groups to participate in the BCI program and meet data, compliance and certification requirements.
Jordan’s efforts at the company closely mirror BCI’s recent transition to a regenerative standard system, which aims to improve environmental outcomes and farmer livelihoods. For both BCI and Olam Agri, regenerative agriculture is about strengthening the resilience of agricultural systems, supporting more secure cotton supply chains, and creating long-term value across the value chain.
From textile engineering to cotton merchant
Jordan also teaches at the U.S. Cotton School. After one of his lessons, we spoke to him about his journey through the cotton sector, the evolving role of merchants and why healthy soil is fundamental to resilient farms and supply chains.
Jordan’s path into cotton began in textile engineering. As globalization reshaped the industry, his interests shifted from manufacturing toward the commercial side of cotton, beginning with an internship in Dunavant Enterprises, first on the floor of the New York Cotton Exchange and then a full-time role in Memphis, Tennessee.
Inspired by his family’s roots in cotton merchandising, Jordan later ran Eastern Trading, a cotton company acquired from his father, spending 25 years serving domestic mills and gaining experience across nearly every aspect of the cotton supply chain. That experience showed him just how closely growers, ginners, merchants, mills, brands and retailers depend on one another.
Merchants: a vital link in the cotton supply chain
Jordan prefers the term “merchant” to “trader,” emphasizing the broader role merchants play in connecting producers and mills. They purchase cotton after it is ginned, finance its storage, manage different qualities and match each bale with the right buyer.
With dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of quality variations within a crop, this matching process is both an art and a science. Merchants also help manage risk: growers can sell when it makes economic sense, while mills receive the required quality when they need it. “We find a home for every bale,” Jordan says.
Because merchants work directly with both growers and downstream buyers, they can also translate demand for sustainability, traceability and environmental performance into practical signals for farmers.
“It is hard enough for a brand to communicate their concerns and priorities to us,” Jordan notes. “It is even harder for them to get to a producer.”
As BCI strengthens certification and traceability, this connection will become increasingly important, helping reinforce supply chain integrity and confidence in sourcing decisions.
From healthier soil to more resilient businesses
For Jordan, regenerative agriculture can only succeed if farming remains economically viable.
“If nobody is growing cotton, if it doesn’t make sense to grow cotton, that impacts my ability to do my job,” he says.
This means supporting practices that can strengthen both environmental performance and farm profitability. Jordan points to soil health research, reduced tillage and cover cropping as examples. Alongside potential premium payments, these approaches can deliver longer-term benefits such as reduced erosion, lower input costs, increased soil organic matter and more stable yields.
Measurement is essential to understanding whether those benefits are being achieved. As sustainability expectations evolve, Jordan sees a need to move beyond reporting activities and toward demonstrating outcomes. Credible data can help producers understand what is working, while enabling brands to communicate impact and direct investment more effectively.
Healthy soils can also make farms better equipped to withstand drought and weather extremes. For growers, that can mean more stable yields; for merchants, more reliable supply; and for mills and brands, reduced risk.
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