Cheeky 'save water' t-shirts raising funds for Granite Belt Drought Appeal

Ms Lupton runs her custom-printed clothing business Tilly & Wilbur through online shopping hub Etsy from a small farm 8km outside of Stanthorpe, where she lives with husband Ross and children Martha and Archie.

What started as a hobby in 2015 grew into a thriving business, but her latest Save Water line of t-shirts is particularly close to her heart, with $5 from each sale going to the cause.

"We're out of water here," she said.

"We're having to go into town and fill containers for our drinking water.

"This is affecting absolutely everybody around Stanthorpe, whether you're on farm or in town.

"We don't have any of the transient workers that you would normally have in a season so they're not spending their money in the region and businesses are finding it a lot tougher."

The idea was born from a suggestion from Ms Lupton's friend, local winemaker Paola Cabezas of Paola The Winemaker's Kitchen.

"She sent me a message, saying we should have t-shirts that say 'save water, shower with a friend' and I thought why not have a whole line of different ones," Ms Lupton said.

"It happened quite fast and I was able to get the designs done and have them online for sale within 48 hours.

"We've sold over 60 so far.

"A lot of people have been buying a Save Water t-shirt and then buying a few others as well, so that's great for my business too and means we get to buy all our Christmas presents locally as well to give back that way."

Ms Lupton said she liked the idea of doing something humorous that could help make a difference and there had been a lot of positive reactions to the shirts.

"Every bit counts," she said.

"We've all got to try to keep positive... we have to get some rain at some stage."