Portsmouth couple design T-shirts as '˜clothing with soul'

Fiona Hancock, an ex-pupil of Portsmouth High School, and her husband Gavin, both from Hilsea, have launched their ‘clothing with soul’ range Earthmonk.

It was the culmination of two year’s development and aims to create a community where its customers feel supported, motivated and connected.

Finoa said: ‘We’d been feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the throwaway world our children are growing up in. We are surrounded by photo-shopped images of perfection and told that buying more stuff will make you happy. One day we decided to stop moaning and do something about it.

‘We are well aware of the irony of using the shallow world of fashion to suggest an alternative way of thinking.

‘But that was sort of the point. We want to reach as many people as possible, to show that everything we do makes a difference - and if even some of them choose to look deeper and it enhances their lives, we’ll be happy.’

Earthmonk’s interactive website was designed by Yes Creative design agency in Southsea and features skaters around Portsmouth as well as mantras.

Gavin, a practising Buddhist, said: ‘One person told us that ‘Flow with the Way of Things,’ had become his own mantra and that he now uses it every time his day gets challenging. For us it doesn’t get much better than that.’

Gavin recently spent time with the Shapibo tribe in the Peruvian Amazon, and 10 per cent spent by Earthmonk customers goes to the Chaikuni Institute, a non-profit organisation which works to preserve the rainforest. Go to earthmonk.guru for more.