Katharine Hamnett
English (en) svenska (sv)
Katharine E. Hamnett (born on August 16 1947 in Gravesend, Kent) is an English fashion designer, best known for her political t-shirts and ethical business philosophy. Hamnett founded her company in 1979, characterized by comfort and style with slogans. She believes that clothing is the human frame rather than mask.
She made a break in the early 80's with her oversized t-shirts conveying a strong message. She describes the 80’s as being a difficult time for democracy where the ordinary person felt powerless. Democracy did not deliver and protesting remained unheard. Hamnett’s t-shirts, designed to be copied, drew attention, and for every sold t-shirt a percentage was donated to charity. In 1984 she became awarded designer of the year by the British Fashion Council, and was invited to Downing Street No.10 where she met with Margaret Thatcher. She was wearing one of her t-shirts with the printed slogan "58% Do not Want Pershing" (58% against Pershing missiles).
Other used slogans are: "Clean Up or Die", "Save the Rain Forests" and "Choose Life". With her t-shirts she became a fighter, bringing people's voices out and making them visible.
In early 1989, Hamnett began investigating the consequences of pesticides and other toxins in cotton farming and textile production. She began lobbying to change the industry in order to create a more ethical and environmentally friendly production chain, but the industry was consistently uninterested.
Hamnett said that it's not the same with organic cotton as with organic food, that it will improve your health. But if we buy organic cotton, we will improve the African cotton farmers' health. They can avoid risking their lives because of the pesticides they are forced to spray the cotton with.
She then decided to do it on her own. She sold her house in Highgate in London to secure the 12 million SEK she needed for her new clothing production. In 2005 she re-launched her business under strict ethical guidelines, including the production and farming systems. Hamnett monitors the entire chain, from cotton seed to the finished garment in the store.
Hamnett says that she could not fund the project in any other way. She wants to try to change a rotten industry by creating a new survival model. She says that nobody in the industry wants to learn from this and that they make money at the expense of poor farmers, without caring.
Hamnett is driven by her strong belief that change will be done by consumers.
She wants to show that one person could be important and that this person can have an influence. She says, how can I just sit here and do nothing when three-quarters of the world live below the poverty line.
