Stella Mccartney is proud of running the ''most ethical and loving company in the fashion industry''.

The designer, who is a lifelong vegetarian, is famous for her views on the use of fur and other animal skins in fashion and admits that while she's proud of her self-titled brand for being ethically responsible, she is aware of the ''limitations'' it puts on her creative team.

She said: ''We always have this conversation about out non-leathers. We are, of course, the most ethical and loving company in the fashion industry.

''At this stage I always have to apologise to my designers and creative team for the limitations.''

The 43-year-old star admits that while fashion lovers' views are beginning to change, when she was starting off in the industry people didn't understand her thoughts on animal cruelty.

She London's Evening Standard newspaper: ''I was brought up feeling like there were no limitations and that you didn't need to be safe... I thought, what's the worst that can happen? People can form an opinion about you that's not positive. I can handle that.''

Stella - who is the daughter of Beatles star Paul McCartney - has also recognised that consumers are now constantly changing what it is they want from designers.

She added: ''There's no way that a consumer is not being more informed on that level every day and I don't think that designers can [be sure] that women are going to keep buying the same old s**t. The next generation are not going to have it.''