British actress to design an eco-friendly line for Italian fashion house

(courtesy of People Tree)

Emma Watson will design a new clothing line with Alberta Ferretti.

The 20-year-old British actress, best-known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, will be collaborating with the Italian fashion house on an eco-friendly clothing line. Watson told the American tabloid magazine US Weekly that the new line will be "very classic, 60s Jane Birkin."

Watson caught Ferretti's attention when she launched a clothing line for Fair Trade brand People Tree in February 2010. The capsule collection, Love from Emma , featured 26 women's styles and 15 men's looks. In her role as creative advisor, Watson worked closely with People Tree CEO Safia Minney to design the lifestyle range aimed at young people ages 16 to 24.

"She [Ferretti] wrote to me and said, 'I saw what you did with People Tree and I think it's a great idea and will you do something with me?'" Watson said. The young starlet, who was the face of UK label Burberry, jumped at the chance to work with the renowned designer. "I will put it out there that I will work for anyone for free if they are prepared to make their clothing fair-trade organic," she says.

The collection, whose name has not yet been revealed, will make its debut in stores shortly after Christmas.

Eco-friendly clothing, once considered hippie attire for tree-huggers, has now grown into a burgeoning retail industry. Ferretti is hardly the first high-end designer to roll out a sustainable clothing collection. Stella McCartney, a lifelong vegetarian and environmental rights activist, does not use any leather or fur in her designs for her eponymous label. And last year, Phillip Lim debuted his ethical clothing line Go Green Go - a 10-piece collection of tanks, pants and tunic dresses made from natural cottons and organic silk.

Most recently, superstar Bono and his wife Ali Hewson starred in Louis Vuitton's travel-themed "Core Values" campaign. The couple wore clothing from their eco-friendly Edun label for the ads, as well as co-designed the Louis Vuitton Keep-all 45 Travel Duffle Bag, for which all proceeds went to the TechnoServe and Cotton Initiative charities.