Gradley Thirkle, 37, a public servant from South Shields has set up an ethically aware clothing label that designs limited edition t-shirts made from 100% organic cotton and created using a responsible manufacturing process.

Gradley commented, "The Subtle brand represents understated quality throughout. Each design is created, without being flashy or relying on shocking designs to attract attention. Instead, I believe that good quality materials and a strong design concept is enough to make anyone stand out in a crowd. Subtle's logo is a peacock, it refers to the idea that people want to look their best to attract attention, like peacocks, showing off their plumage to attract a mate."

The first of Subtle Clothing's limited edition designs became available on 1st March this year and the business is going from strength to strength with the help of Silver bullet who have designed a creative marketing and PR campaign that's sure to get the brand noticed.

The Subtle t-shirts are constructed using 100 percent organic cotton certified by the Soil Association, and without the use of child labour, forced labour and in safe and healthy working conditions and the label is accredited by the Fair Wear Foundation because of it's ethical approach to manufacture.

Silver Bullet Account Executive, Kerry Tudor said, "Gradley came to us with an extremely strong brand, not only does it look great but the lengths that the label goes to, to ensure that the t-shirts are made from the best cotton and in the best conditions, make it a marketers dream. The themes behind the designs enable us to think up some very creative promotional ideas too so it's certainly an exciting project for us to work on as a creative agency."

Since its launch Subtle has been involved with this year's Newcastle Fashion Week, the Newcastle Green Festival, the South of Tyne Green Festival and sponsored a stage at the Make a Scene festival held at Teesside University. The t-shirts are now available for purchase on the ASOS marketplace, as well as the Subtle Clothing website and several independent fashion retailers have shown interest in the designs.

"Gradley is passionate about the links between music and fashion, something that is especially prevalent in the North East's social scene so we made some excellent links with associated media that will enhance the brand and make it very recognizable in our region over the next few months. We even arranged for the 'Summer' t-shirt design to grace the stage at Glastonbury festival this year as Ben Dancer, singer from popular local band Vinyl Jacket wore the t-shirt during the band's performance on the BBC Introducing stage."

To find out more or to buy a t-shirt visit www.subtleclothing.com.