Carry Somers (born 1966) is a British

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

expert and campaigner. She is founder of

Fashion Revolution Fashion Revolution is a not-for-profit global movement represented by Fashion Revolution CIC with teams in over 75 countries around the world. Fashion Revolution campaigns for reform of the fashion industry with a focus on the need for greater T ...

global movement and was previously founder and director of Pachacuti. Somers is also the author of ''The Nature of Fashion'' (Chelsea Green, September 2025), a comprehensive exploration of the history of plant-based textiles and their impact on human societies and the natural environment. She is a Churchill Fellow and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Letters.

Background

Somers was born in

Seaton, Devon Seaton () is a seaside town, fishing harbour and civil parish in East Devon on the south coast of England, between Axmouth (to the east) and Beer (to the west). It faces onto Lyme Bay and is on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. A se ...

in 1966 and attended Colyton Grammar School. She has a degree in Languages and European Studies from

Southampton University The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United K ...

, and a Masters in Native American Studies Studies from the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

which presented her with the alumnus of the year award in 2009. Somers set up fair trade fashion brand Pachacuti in 1992 and founded Fashion Revolution in 2013. In July 2022, Somers was awarded an honorary doctorate by

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

Career

Author and Consultant

Since leaving Fashion Revolution, Somers has focused on writing and public engagement around textiles and sustainability. Her book The Nature of Fashion, published by Chelsea Green in September 2025, examines the historical relationship between plants and textiles and the environmental impacts of material choices. She also serves as an advisor to the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

, Material World Festival, which explores the cultural and ecological contexts of plant-derived materials and is a lead artist for Kew's Community Open Week 2025. In 2024, she was the lead advisor for The Good Clothes Show, a public-facing event promoting sustainable fashion. Somers is also a director of League of Artisans, which organises community-based initiatives such as

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

Textile Week. She remains active in projects that promote sustainable material systems and traditional textile practices, and public engagement through storytelling and cultural programming.

Fashion Revolution

Somers is founder of

, a global movement which arose from the Rana Plaza garment factory disaster in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

on 24 April 2013. Fashion Revolution is the world's largest fashion activism movement campaigning for systemic reform of the fashion industry with a focus on supply chain transparency. Somers organised roundtable debates at the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on ethics, sustainability and transparency in the fashion supply chain including Ethical Fashion 2020:a New Vision for Transparency in June 2015 and Fashion Question Time annually from 2015 to 2018 in

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

and in 2019 at the V&A. Somers speaks nationally and internationally about transparency, human rights and environmental issues in the fashion supply chain. In 2020, Somers sailed 2000 miles from the Galapagos Islands to

Easter Island Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...

and the

South Pacific Gyre The Southern Pacific Gyre is part of the Earth's system of rotating ocean currents, bounded by the Equator to the north, Australia to the west, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the south, and South America to the east. The center of the South ...

with eXXpedition, an all-female round-the-world sailing voyage carrying out scientific research into the impact of plastic and toxic pollution in the ocean. In February 2022, Somers was nominated for a billboard campaign during

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

highlighting women-led social enterprises in the fashion industry which are driving social and environmental impact, appearing on the

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

billboard in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

and outside the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Somers worked with garden designer Lottie Delamain on a Textile Garden for Fashion Revolution which won a silver gilt medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May 2022.

Pachacuti

Somers founded fair trade hat brand Pachacuti in 1992. Pachacuti was the first company to be verified under the

World Fair Trade Organization The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) claims to be the global community and verifier of enterprises that fully practice fair trade. It is an association of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), farmers or retailers that claim to fully pra ...

Sustainable Fair Trade Management System, the first International certification of a fair trade,

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

production process. The WFTO Verification system guarantees practices, procedures and processes that demonstrate social, economic and environmental responsibility throughout the

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

". Pachacuti's products were labelled Verified Fair Trade by WFTO UK0001-2009 to 2012. Pachacuti piloted the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Geo Fair Trade project from 2009–12 which traced products from the straw to the

Panama hat An Ecuadorian hat, also known as a Panama hat, a Jipijapa hat, or a toquilla straw hat, is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Traditionally, hats were made from the plaited leaves of the '' Carludovica palmata'' plant, k ...

weavers. 60 social, economic, geolocalisation and environmental indicators tracked annual changes. The pilot project mapped the

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

co-ordinates of Pachacuti's 154 weavers' houses in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, the parcels of land where the

Carludovica Palmata ''Carludovica palmata'' (also known as Panama hat plant, toquilla palm, calá, palmilla, palmero, pojom, jiraca, junco, soyacal, tepejilote, and jipijapa) is a species of flowering plant in the family '' Cyclanthaceae''. It is not a true palm, ...

grows, and the co-ordinates of the associations who harvest and process the straw. At

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, England, twice a year, in June and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fash ...

in September 2013, People Tree Ltd. and Pachacuti were the first companies in the world to launch the WFTO Fair Trade Guarantee System label.

Press

Somers appears regularly on television and radio in the UK and overseas. She has been a regular guest on

BBC World BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...

Business News,

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...

and national and international radio. Press articles and interviews include:

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

How Two Entrepreneurs Became Unexpected Activists And Started A Fashion Revolution ''

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

'' She Wears It well ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' How the Rana Plaza Disaster Changed Fashion Forever and the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' How to Spend It.

Lectures and Presentations

Somers is an experienced public speaker and has taken the stage at major events including

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

Impact Summit in Athens, The King's Foundation sustainability conference, The Textile Society annual conference, an audience of 5000 at Trimarchi, the largest design festival in Latin America, and many other national and international events. She has also lectured on cruise ships in Latin America and the Caribbean on

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

, traditional dress, artisan

handicrafts A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

Indigenous Peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

and Fair Trade.

Publications

2025: The Nature of Fashion (Chelsea Green, September 2025). 2024: A Dictionary of Plant Fibre and Colour, with research from Somers' Churchill Fellowship. 2015: Somers wrote the introduction to
Fixing Fashion
which looks at the impacts of consumer culture's addiction to disposable fashion, published by New Society. 2014: Co-authored "Working Ethically", which aims to help business owners find an ethical strategy which will benefit their suppliers, community and environment. She contributed to the book, published in 2014, "Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship".

Business accomplishments

* 2023 Churchill Fellow * 2022 Doctor of Letters honoris causa, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK in recognition of outstanding contribution to fair trade and leadership in advocacy for and recognition of sustainable practices in labour, trade and production in the global fashion industry. * 2022 Honoree Conscious Fashion Campaign, New York * 2020 Winner Luxury Sustainability Award at the Luxury Law Awards * 2019 Named as one of 8 inspiring sustainable icons revolutionising fashion * 2016 Named one of London's most influential people in the Equality Champions category of the Progress 1000 Awards, alongside

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

Duchess of Cornwall The Duchess of Cornwall is a title held by the wife of the heir apparent to the British throne. The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also the Princess of Wales, and she uses that title. The current title-holder is Catherine, Princess of Wales, Ca ...

, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

and

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

. *2013 Winner of Outstanding Contribution to

Sustainable Fashion Sustainable fashion is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, incl ...

at Source Awards, House of Lords *2011 Winner – Best Practice in Sustainable Luxury in Latin America,] Fashion & Accessories *2011 Winner – Observer Ethical Award category 'Fashion & Accessories' *2011 Big Tick Award & 'Highly Commended' – Small Company of the Year category, National Awards for Excellence *2009 The

named Somers Alumnus of the Year 2009. *2008 Winner of The Hat Life (magazine), Life Magazine Hatty Award for significant contribution to the headwear industry. *2007 Invited to meet the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 14 February in "recognition of her significant contribution to UK business". *2007 Winner of the FSB British Small Business Champions Ethical Award; interviewed on BBC Radio 4s ''Woman's Hour'' *2006 Winner of the award for the best growing business in the Country Living Enterprising Rural Women Award which recognises excellence in rural-based businesses.

References

External links

*
Fashion Revolution

Pachacuti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Carry 1966 births Living people Alumni of the University of Essex People from Seaton, Devon English businesspeople in fashion