ecoming a Designer:

The Goodwill ambassadorship was not the first time Emma Watson has tried to make her mark in the world. It all started at 19, when she travelled to Bangladesh and met a young woman who worked in one of the fabric factories she visited. It was an eye opening experience for Emma, seeing someone the same age whose quality of life is vastly different from hers. From then on she has been involved in wearing and bringing sustainable fashion to the forefront.

In 2009, while attending Brown and working on the Potter movies, she began a collaboration with People Tree, a clothing brand committed to ethical and environmentally sustainable fashion. Much like everything she does, Emma put her all into the clothing she designed; selecting fabrics, colors and silhouettes. If she wasn’t filming or in a classroom, she was spending her free time at home sizing and cutting designs. In the end, she designed three seasons worth of clothing and accessories for young men and women ages 16 to 24. Her line “Love From Emma” included jersey tees, dresses, woven skirts, trousers, knitwear, playsuits, harem pants, Kimono style blouses, polka dot and gingham prints, Bohemian hand-embroidered bed throws, slouchy banana-fiber beanies/headscarves and recycled candy wrapper made jewelry.

After her success with People Tree, renowned Italian designer Alberta Ferretti reached out to Watson in hopes of collaborating. In 2011 they debuted on an eco-friendly capsule collection with a 70s vibe called Pure Threads. With Jane Birkin as a muse they created five-pieces; two dresses, a shirt, a long skirt and denim shorts with lace embellishments. Each piece was made in Italy from global organic textiles and organic cotton poplin, muslin and hemp and part of the proceeds were donated to People Tree.


Trying Modelling On for Size:

Emma Watson not only designed clothes but took part in a few famous modeling stints. In 2009 Christopher Bailey of Burberry asked Watson to appear in the fall campaign and again for spring 2010. The following year, she started promoting Trésor Midnight Rose, a Lancôme perfume.

Turning the Red Carpet Green

Watson has committed herself to wearing sustainable fashion whenever possible whether on the red carpet or during press tours. Not only is this cause an eco-friendly one but a feminist issue as well. Many factories exploit their female employees and the industry is the second largest fresh water pollutant. She along with celebrities like Colin Firth and Cate Blanchett are taking part in Eco Age’s green carpet challenge, which was started by Firth’s wife, Livia. For the challenge celebrities wear “green” (sustainable) clothing on the red carpet, collaborating with fashion houses to promote and give attention to the cause.

Watson’s most famous look for the challenge was the custom Calvin Klein she wore to the 2016 MET Gala. It was made out of Newlife, a yarn crafted 100% by plastic bottles, along with organic silk, cotton and recycled zippers. Emma even convinced the Calvin Klein team to use sustainable fabrics for their other guests Lupita Nyong’O and Margot Robbie.

Emma and her stylist Sarah Slutsky have posted pictures on Instagram of the head to toe sustainable looks she wears during her press tours to keep the eco-friendly fashion conversation going.

Goodwill Ambassadorship:

Since Emma realized early on she believed in equality for women she was at peace announcing to the world she was a feminist. Fame did not come easy so using her platform to do good in the world makes it more manageable. Emma takes her new role as ambassador seriously, spending her free time educating and exposing herself to new ideas. She even started ‘Our Shared Shelf’ an online feminist book club anyone can join (meetings are conducted through a group on Goodreads if you are so inclined). In her speech she introduced the HeForShe campaign which is an effort to encourage 1 billion men to declare their support for gender equality.