Supermodel Lily Cole has defended the pricing of her eco-friendly clothing range.

The model acknowledges her The North Circular line's garments may appear expensive - with knitwear made out of wool from rescue sheep and hand-knitted, but costing £65 for and hat and a scarf retailing at £110 - but she insisted the costs are in place to ensure workers are not exploited during production.

She told The Guardian newspaper: ''I'm not against people buying clothes.

''I think clothes are wonderful and I'm very materialistic myself, but there's a way of finding a compromise.''

''I just think we can buy less and pay more, to make sure people aren't being exploited.''

''I'm a hypocrite. I'm not perfect and I admit that, and I feel guilty about that, but I try and do what I can, I think by having these dialogues, and trying to make conscious choices and become more aware, that's the only option really.''

Lily co-founded The North Circular, which donates five per cent of its profits to the Environment Justice Foundation, and she is also helping them by promoting a lower priced ethical garment, The Climate Week T-shirt, designed by Eley Kishimoto, which will retail through retailer Tesco for £10.

Lily, 22, recently went to India to witness every stage of the supply chain of the T-shirt - which has a carbon footprint 90 per cent smaller than the average top - and said she was astounded by how something sustainable could be produced so cheaply on such a large scale.

She added: ''It was such an amazing and heart-warming and optimistic experience, just to know you could produce an affordable T-shirt and it could be a positive process, employing people and not dumping loads of chemical dyes into the local river.''

The Climate Week T-shirt is available now and the week itself runs until Saturday (27.03.11).