John Easton was born in Oldham in 1954 and studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge before gaining a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology.
He started his career with ICI Organics Division in Manchester in 1978 in Dyeing Research and held a number of technical positions in the dyes business before taking up a new role as Safety, Health & Environment Adviser within Technical Marketing in 1991. He subsequently filled this role for Zeneca Specialties and BASF. On joining DyStar in 2000 he worked in Product Safety and Ecology Dept and was Ecology Solutions Manager for the DyStar Textile Services business from 2007 to 2015. He was Global Brand & Retail Sustainability Adviser for DyStar until his retirement in 2017.
Dr Easton joined the Society in 1979 and in 2003 was awarded the Silver Medal for his services to the industry in the field of ecology and environment and the Gold Medal in 2010 for outstanding service to education and the Society. He is a Fellow of the SDC and served on the Board of Trustees from 2009-2013 with special responsibility for Publications. He has chaired the Publications Committee since 2000, is a member of the Publication Awards Committee, and is a past member of the Finance Committee and Technical Committee. He was made an Honorary Member of the Society in 2015.