Emma Watson's ethical clothing line

Emma Watson has teamed up with People Tree as creative advisor to provide ethical clothes for 16 – 24 year olds.  Emma who plays the much loved Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films has always loved fashion. In between filming and studying she has given her time for free to create her "Love from Emma" collection.

Her own mission statement seen on her website is “I wanted to help People Tree produce a younger range because I was excited by the idea of using fashion as a tool to alleviate poverty and knew it was something I could help make a difference with.” Her desire to help people was inspired by her Fair Trade project she researched whilst studying for her A-Levels at school.

 People Tree was founded by Safia Minney who wanted to make clothes with a difference. The reason Emma wanted to work with People Tree because it has three key factors she believes in. The workers are treated fairly and offered a fair price for their work. The cotton used is organic and the company are committed to promoting climate change. It deals with people and the importance of looking after the environment.

 Her clothing is a way of teaching young people about the environment. It offers young people an opportunity, not only to be environmentally friendly using organic resources, but to make a difference to the workers life living in third world countries such as Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Instead of being ripped off by companies that are only interested in profits, regardless of the consequences, a fair wage means that workers can have an improved lifestyle.

 The collection comprises of the kinds of handmade clothes Emma believes young people want to wear. Far away from the glitzy red carpet the clothes are comfortable rather than restrictive. They are casual rather than formal. The female range consists of dresses, shorts and t-shirts with funky slogans on such as “Please don’t panic I’m organic.” The men’s clothes are shorts, hoodies and t-shirts with slogans such as “I’m not toxic” to show the importance of caring for the environment.

With a photo shoot that promotes a very British theme, the setting is in the country, the clothes are fun and cheerful. The models are friends of Emma and everyone is working for free.  The response in the media has been positive. Most of all these are clothes that are making a difference to the world.

Useful websites

 http://www.emmawatson.com/en/Projects/

http://www.peopletree.co.uk/pr ess/sesp_news.php