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                                                            EXHIBIT 31.1

                              CERTIFICATIONS

I, Joseph L. Lanier, Jr., certify that:

1.        I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Dan River
     Inc.;

2.        Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any
     untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
     necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
     under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
     the period covered by this quarterly report;

3.        Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
     financial information included in this quarterly report, fairly present
     in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations
     and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented
     in this quarterly report;

4.        The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible
     for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
     defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and
     we have:

               a)   designed such disclosure controls and procedures to
          ensure that material information relating to the registrant,
          including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by
          others within those entities, particularly during the period in
          which this quarterly report is being prepared;

               b)   evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
          disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days
          prior to the filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation
          Date"); and

               c)   presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about
          the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based
          on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

5.        The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,
     based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and
     the audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons
     performing the equivalent function):

               a)   all significant deficiencies in the design or operation
          of internal controls which could adversely affect the registrant's
          ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data and
          have identified for the registrant's auditors any material
          weaknesses in internal controls; and
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               b)   any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
          management or other employees who have a significant role in the
          registrant's internal controls; and

6.        The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in
     this quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in
     internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect
     internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation,
     including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies
     and material weaknesses.

Date: August 12, 2003

                              /s/ Joseph L. Lanier, Jr.
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                              Joseph L. Lanier, Jr., Chief
                              Executive Officer