Zandra Rhodes designs for EJF: organic cotton charity t-shirt

Zandra Rhodes 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.

Reputed for her original, striking prints, Rhodes has created a beautifully bold and typically colourful design for the campaign.

Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and style guru Louise Roe have modelled the exclusive t-shirt as have international models Daul Kim, Ali Stephens, Max Rogers, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Magdalena Frackowiak and Anabela Belikova.

Sophie Ellis Bextor says: “As a mother, it is inconceivable to me that some of the world's poorest children should be exploited for the sake of the clothes we wear in the West. The Environmental Justice Foundation is making real change in the fashion industry and beyond. By buying one of EJF's gorgeous t-shirts you can lend some stylish support to a fantastic cause.”

Zandra Rhodes, who has influenced every level of the industry over the past 40 years, is joined in the project by John Rocha, Giles Deacon and Allegra Hicks. The 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.

Louise Roe says:"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”.

Max Rogers and Hanne Gaby in Zandra Rhodes organic cotton charity t-shirt
Photos: Max Rogers by Matthew Eades and Hanne Gaby by Eric Guillemain

Daul Kim and Ali Stephens in Zandra Rhodes organic cotton charity t-shirt
Photos by Eric Guillemain

Anabela Belikova and Magdalena Frackowiak in Zandra Rhodes organic cotton charity t-shirt
Photos Eric Guillemain