The US actress and star of Men in Black II, Rosario Dawson, has set up a social enterprise to help Ghanaian garment makers make decent wages from their work.

Rosario, who was also the star of Sin City, launched her social enterprise Studio 189 with her best friend Abrima Erwiah in 2013 after travelling in Africa, according go the project’s website.

Studio 189 sells clothes that challenge the idea of cheap, mass produced, fast fashion with the garments handmade in Ghana with a focus on African patterns and fabrics while paying a decent wage to the people who create them.

Studio 189 is a part of the UN Ethical Fashion Initiative which aims to build a responsible fashion industry where workers earn a living wage in good conditions while also protecting the environment.

Ghanaian dress makers display their work with Rosario
Ghanaian dress makers display their work with Rosario

Rosario is an American actress, producer, singer, comic book writer, and political activist. She made her film debut in the 1995 teen drama Kids.

Her subsequent film roles include He Got Game, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Rent, Sin City, Death Proof, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Unstoppable and Top Five. Dawson has also provided voice-over work for Disney and DC.

For her role in Rent, Dawson won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture; for her role in Top Five, she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in a Comedy.

Dawson portrays Claire Temple/Night Nurse in five of the Marvel/Netflix shows, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders.