The first Seasalt garment ever designed was a 'sailor shirt' and it was made using organic cotton.

From the very start we wanted to produce beautiful, handsome products that were excellent quality and had the least environmental impact.

Our commitment followed a visit to small scale farmers around the world. Sophie and Neil met people whose livelihoods depended on cotton and who were finding it difficult to compete with subsidised producers in more developed countries. One possible solution was to switch to an organic crop, a product people are willing to pay just a little bit more for.

In 2005 we became the first fashion company to have garments certified by the Soil Association. We're still involved in developing and maintaining these standards, as a board member of the Soil Association Textiles Standards & Trade Group.

From early on, the economic and environmental benefits of organic cotton meant we wanted to use it in our collections as much as possible. Not everything is organic; sometimes it's difficult because of price and availability. But we have become one of the UK's largest sellers of organic cotton, most of it certified to Soil Association standards.

In our SS13 Collection, around 50% of our cotton garment range is organically produced.

We recognise our responsibility to the environment and know that there's a long way to go. We're not perfect, but we are constantly working to produce our collections in the most responsible way we can.