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Leading fashion designer Katharine Hamnett will design an organic clothing for British supermarket giant Tesco.

The UK's largest supermarket chain said that the collection would catapult organic clothes into the mainstream and shatter the myth that environmentally-friendly clothes can't be stylish or affordable.

Terry Green, chief executive of Tesco Clothing, said: "As part of our strategy to offer customers more choice, I am delighted to have secured Katharine Hamnett to design a range of clothing for Tesco.

"This is a premium brand, reflecting the quality of Katharine's design and the organic production processes involved. But it will also be affordable because Tesco wants to make organics accessible to all."

Respected for two decades of environmental campaigning, Hamnett has spent many years researching, supporting and promoting organic cotton farming.

The Hamnett range will use raw materials that have been grown without chemical fertilisers and manufactured and dyed in an environmentally sustainable way, Tesco noted.

Katharine Hamnett: "By buying organic cotton you are supporting a movement working to improve the health of the soil, plants, animals and people."

Hamnett, a former British Fashion Council Designer of the Year, said: "By buying organic cotton you are supporting a movement working to improve the health of the soil, plants, animals and people.

"My design-led but accessible organic collection will be available to millions of people at Tesco. As such, it is the biggest leap forward yet for organic clothing. I believe it could help organic clothing to make the same impact as organic food now undoubtedly does."

Tesco, which saw total clothing sales climb 19 per cent in the first half of 2006, announced that the new organic range would be available to buy from next spring.

With most garments machine-washable, the range includes women's wear pieces from dresses to jeans, men's wear from chinos to blazers, and children's wear for boys and girls aged four to 14 years.

"Just as more and more people are choosing organic foods, we know our customers are increasingly interested in clothing which is made using environmentally-sustainable processes," added Tesco's head of design Lee Rees-Oliviere.

"Not only is the cotton soft and luxurious to wear but Katharine has created beautiful, stylish clothes - which also give something back to the environment. We expect the collection to have widespread appeal."

In April 2005, Tesco became the first British retailer to post annual profits in excess of £2bn.

The firm now operates more than 2,300 stores in 13 countries.