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VEN before Beauty and the Beast began breaking box-office records in the US and around the world, Emma Watson knew there would be a lot of attention focused on the liveaction adaptation of the beloved Disney classic. In taking on the role of Belle — the biggest part she’s played since the Harry Potter franchise ended — the 26-year-old actress placed herself, wittingly or not, back in the spotlight. She decided to use the opportunity to highlight a cause that’s become dear to her — next to women’s rights, of course — eco-friendly fashion.

As Watson, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, began embarking on a press tour around the world, she opened an Instagram account, called it @the_press_tour, and started posting pictures of her ethicallyconsidered fashion choices for each city. In one post, she revealed that the custom-made Louis Vuitton dress she wore to a press junket in France was made of recycled polyester created from used plastic bottles. The account has drawn more than 470 000 followers. She also posted that her earrings were from SA jewellery brand Pichulik, which supports local, female crafters and uses re-purposed materials.

This isn’t the first time Watson has gone the sustainability route, having made the decision to go ecofriendly in 2015, when she took up the Green Carpet Challenge. Created by Livia Firth, Oxfam Global Ambassador, Watson wore fashion made of kind-to-the-earth fabrics for the red carpet of the premiere of her film Regression. As she told CNN: “The fashion industry is the second-largest polluter in the world, second only to the oil industry. It has such a big environment impact, a big human impact. It’s not enough for me anymore to know that [something is] a beautiful piece of clothing; I need to know that it’s not leaving a negative mark on the planet.”

Watson was initially inspired to get involved with the Green Carpet Challenge after watching The True Cost, a documentary about the social and environmental impact of our clothing purchases.

Last year, she chose to wear a Calvin Klein dress to the Met Ball that was made of recycled water bottles, and consisted of various pieces that could be worn together again in different ways. As her career has developed, she’s become the postergirl for Firth’s consultancy, Eco-Age, which is looking to change the way the world sees fashion.

But in garnering publicity for Beauty and the Beast, arguably Watson’s most publicised film since Harry Potter, she has a larger spotlight to shine on the trend. She’s Beast,