John Rocha designs for EJF: organic cotton charity t-shirt

John Rocha has backed the Environmental Justice Foundation’s (EJF) Pick Your Cotton Carefully campaign, designing a t-shirt to raise awareness of the use of forced child labour and the ecological devastation associated with cotton production.

Using his signature colours of cream and black he has created a timeless design, encapsulating elements of femininity and the orient that also brings delicate attention to the source of many ready-to-wear products today – the cotton plant.

Top fashion beauty Jasmine Guinness, who hails from the designer’s hometown of Dublin, has modelled the exclusive t-shirt to promote the campaign as have stunning style guru Louise Roe and international models Aline Weber, Kori Richardson, Annett Griffel, Olga Sherer and Anne Vyalitsyna.

Jasmine Guinness says:"Cotton production today can be incredibly poisonous to the world’s ecosystems. We have had it too cheap for too long and now we have to pay a little more not just for the quality of our t-shirts but for the quality of the lives of the pickers, the producers and the planet"

John Rocha, who was awarded a CBE in 2002 in recognition of his contribution to British fashion, is joined in the project by Zandra Rhodes, Giles Deacon and Allegra Hicks.

The ethical fashion t-shirts are produced on organic and fairly traded cotton and printed with organic certified inks.

All money raised by EJF from the sale of the t-shirts goes to support the charity’s valuable work. The t-shirts, which are very kindly sponsored by Continental Clothing are available in ladies fitted and men’s classic styles from £30 from www.ejfoundation.org/shop (worldwide delivery).

Around the world, whether it is state enforced, or child trafficking, millions of children face severe exploitation in the cotton industry. In Uzbekistan, the world’s 3rd largest exporter of cotton, roughly a third of the population are forced to work in conditions near slavery for the state run cotton industry. Many are children. Schools across the country are shut down for the cotton harvest as children from the age of 7 are sent to work for weeks in the fields, paid little or nothing, but benefiting their repressive government through this forced labour.

"Now more than ever, it's crucial to be savvy about what you're buying - customers need to take responsibility for the consequences of what they buy and where. EJF are making a difference to children's lives around the world, and I am proud to be supporting them. Plus the T-shirts are that amazingly soft, thin cotton - I can't stop wearing mine!

Juliette Williams Programme Director, EJF, says: “Even in tough economic times, our buying power can be a force for good. Choosing organic and fairly traded cotton actively supports communities in some of the world’s poorest nations, where fair and equitable trade to the west can literally mean the difference between life and death. With public support, companies have been inspired to look at the way the cotton they buy and sell is produced, and high street names are saying ‘no’ to cotton from Uzbekistan until child labour and environmental abuses are eradicated. Together we can change our world”.

Annet Griffel and Kori Richardson in John Rocha organic cotton charity t-shirt
Photos by Eric Guillemain

Anne Vyalitsyna and Olga Sherer in John Rocha organic cotton charity t-shirt
Photos by Eric Guillemain

Aline Weber in John Rocha organic cotton charity t-shirt
Photo by Eric Guillemain