Emma Watson's Stylish Guide to Shopping Sustainably

All too often, talking in length about a pair of shoes can be dismissed as frivolous, but this year, Emma Watson has shown how it can be incredibly powerful to discuss, in detail, every single item of clothing we wear. The actress consistently uses her celebrity status to incite change, and this year she has shouted from the rooftops of social media about sustainable fashion in an attempt to convince us to make smarter choices about where we shop.

Watson often posts outfit-of-the-day posts on Instagram, tagging new brands she is excited about and writing detailed captions explaining why these are her go-to designers. While promoting Beauty and the Beast, she even set up a separate Instagram account @the_press_tour, to share detailed fashion credits about every single outfit she is wearing.

Ethical fashion is an important issue to Emma. She signed up for the Green Carpet Challenge in 2015, agreeing that every single piece she wears on the red carpet would be sustainable. Her Calvin Klein Met Gala 2016 gown, for example, was made out of recycled plastic bottles and her Emilia Wickstead Beauty and the Beast gown is made from end-of-line fabric, and that's far chicer than it sounds.

She isn't just showing how fashion houses can use innovative technology to create magnificent, sustainable red carpet and day-to-day pieces, however. She also sees it as her fashion mission to highlight emerging cutting-edge brands that are produced responsibly, and her stylist, Rebecca Corbin Murray, is constantly scouting for new labels by crowdsourcing on Instagram. Last year, Emma even collaborated with ethical label Zady on a capsule collection, once again proving you can dress stylishly while still sticking to your principles.

Scroll through the gallery below to discover the best ethical brands Emma Watson has championed this year.

One of Emma Watson's go-to jewellery brands is Catbird, which creates handmade delicate pieces in New York. Emma wore its earrings and cuffs to the Beauty and the Beast London premiere.

On the first day of Emma's Beauty and the Beast promo tour, she wore a pair of white trainers by Good Guys Don't Wear Leather, a vegan shoe brand designed in Paris.

Leaving the photocall in Paris, Emma wore a bodysuit by Scandinavian brand Woron, which creates sustainable and vegan lingerie.

Watson is one of many celebrities to carry Simon Miller's cult Bonsai bucket bag this year, but she has highlighted its sustainability too. Simon Miller produces the entire collection in the United States using organic mills to reduce impact, and works with independent mills in France and Japan. As Emma's stylist also explained on Instagram, "the brand focuses heavily on incorporating OZONE technology in their production, as well as employing ceramic stones in the denim wash processes." 

Emma proves that eco doesn't mean expensive with her pair of trainers by French brand Veja, which are an affordable £87. Rebecca Corbin Murray explained on Instagram that the brand uses recycled plastic bottles and wild rubber to create the soles.

At a New York screening of City of Joy in November, Emma wore rings by the German handmade sustainable jewellery label Golpira, which uses fair trade gold nuggets. Rings worth saving up for…

New York–based ethical fashion brand Zady is one of Emma Watson's favourite labels, so much so that this year she approached the company to create a capsule collection of timeless pieces inspired by her style. The pieces became available to buy on Zady's website as she wore them. 

On a trip with the UN, Emma wore a white shirt by Tome and explained the story behind it on Instagram: "My white shirt is made from organic cotton and is part of its White Shirt Project campaign. The project was conceived in 2014 to raise funds and awareness for the Freedom for All charity, which is fighting human trafficking and modern-day slavery."

Emma wore a tuxedo by Maiyet to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September. Emma highlighted on Instagram the benefits of shopping with Maiyet, writing, "They are committed to forging partnerships with artisans globally and [have] entered into a strategic partnership with @buildanest, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to training and developing artisan businesses to promote entrepreneurship, prosperity and dignity in places that need it most."

At a Chanel film event at MoMA in New York City, Emma turned to Australian sustainable label Kitx for her crushed velvet black evening dress. Kitx is committed to using organic, renewed and recycled fabrics, and Rebecca explained on Instagram that this specific dress has recycled polyester zips from recycled clothing or reused plastic bottles. 

Another ethical designer the actress often turns to is New York label Behno. As the star wrote on Instagram, "Behno's mission is to redefine and bring awareness to the craft and character of 'made in India.' Behno aims to inspire change and improve factory conditions globally to better the quality of life and safety of individuals in the garmenting trade in developing countries. They work in partnership with international factories that adhere to rigid factory compliances." She wore its chic trench coat on the red carpet at the premiere of Colonia.

At the aforementioned MoMA film benefit, Emma wore two-strap heels using recycled polyester microsuede by Los Angeles–based vegan shoe label Susi Studio.

One of Watson's go-to jewellery brands is Daisy Knights, a London-based sustainable brand that produces all pieces in the UK using recycled gold and silver. 

At a HeForShe talk at the United Nations in New York, Emma wore a pair of simple hoops by affordable London label Tada & Toy, which Rebecca sourced via The Acey, an online boutique which stocks the new coolest ethical names. 

This post was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.