In 2005, a small group of us decided that we wanted to start a clothing company. None of us had experience in the clothing industry - we were motivated by hearing stories of bad practice in garment factories and wanted to try to build a different kind of business than the normal. We wanted to make something that was not only good to wear, but made a difference to those who produced it.

We heard about the situation in the occupied West Bank and decided that producing and exporting clothing from there was the kind of impossible task we wanted for our brand. The first rude awakening was when Joe first went to Palestine (and foolishly chose to cross via the Allenby bridge from Jordan), when he was held and questioned for most of a day before being allowed to enter. This was a taste of the daily indignities and difficulties Palestinians face in their normal lives.

Peace will only come when Palestinians have justice - and this includes economic and social stability. The reality is that trade is extremely difficult with transport problems of materials, goods and people. This has led to a dramatic reduction in jobs, with unemployment rates reported to be as high as 60% in some Palestinian towns.

To make our task even more difficult, we decided that we wanted to produce clothing in organic cotton - a first for Palestinian clothing, we believe. This meant sourcing organic cotton yarn from Turkey, transporting it to the factory in Bethlehem, producing it and exporting to the UK. There were delays all the way along the chain.

We decided to use organic cotton for two reasons. First, we wanted to encourage Palestinian producers to consider new niche markets and attempt to manufacture higher value products. Similar quality ordinary cotton garments can easily be obtained from other parts of the world at much cheaper prices than can be produced in Palestine. Second, we really believe in the use of organic cotton - given that cotton is one of the most chemically sprayed crops on the planet.

Since 2006, we have been selling the T-shirts as well as thinking of new ideas for them including prints which you see on this page. We've also been talking and trying to encourage other brands to consider using Palestinian manufacturers and we succeeded in persuading one American brand (hurrah!).

So, we hope this encourages you to consider how you too can support Palestinians and bring peace to the land we Once Called Holy. Trade is not impossible, just really, really difficult...

If you need some ideas, contacts or want to work with our non-profit co-operative, get in touch.