In Lewes High Street, halfway up the hill, there is a new shop.

It's a shop with a difference and Abigail Garner has ideas that make sense in these difficult times.

On Monday morning, before the terrible news from America, Beth, my wife, asked: "What are you writing about this week?" "Fashion," replied, without thinking and my wife laughed.

"That's no subject for you," she said.

"You have no fashion sense. You walk round looking like an old scarecrow." I maintained a dignified silence.

In truth, I was thinking about Abigail. A distinctive sign hangs above her new shop, which has been beautifully designed, light and welcoming where the sales assistants smile.

It is a comfortable place.

Gossypium is not just another fashion shop. Abigail has forged a remarkable partnership with 42 Indian and Muslim farmers.

You can see their pictures in the shop and their range of products in beautiful pure cotton, free of chemicals and hand-woven by Indian craftsmen.

Abigail has had an adventurous life. She travelled the world with her children, worked in Bangladesh, for Anita Roddick and represented textile manufacturers to the European Union.

Her hero is Mahatma Ghandi. Abigail has been dismayed at the thousands of businesses that tour the East buying textiles at rock-bottom prices to flood our markets.

Only rarely do the Eastern producers receive a proper price for their products and this can result in misery and anger.

Abigail had other concerns. She graduated in textile processing engineering at Leeds. Alas, our textile industry is on its knees.

Foreign imports are everywhere. Marks & Spencer has all but abandoned its Buy British policy.

Abigail has grappled with the problem. Can she create new jobs for British craftsmen while paying a fair price to her farmers?

Sales are going well. Her customers appreciate Gossypium's high quality products and, at the same time, she has opened a design studio and workshop in Lewes.

Bed linen is hand stitched to order and she expects to create more local jobs in the future.

It's a brave venture. Fashion is fickle but I think there is every chance that Abigail and her marketing director Thomas, together with their talented design team, will succeed.

Take a trip to Lewes No. 19, the High Street and see what you think. It would be nice if this old scarecrow had spotted a winner.