Meghan Markle has admitted that she was sending messages with her style statements when she wasn’t “out speaking” as a royal.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, confirmed so during the April 28 episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast when the host initiated a conversation about the “Meghan Effect.”

“There’s this thing known as the ‘Meghan Effect,'” Lima, co-founder of It Cosmetics, said to Meghan. “How does that make you feel?”

The Duchess of Sussex responded by admitting it felt “really great when, specifically, it can help uplift brands that have a great ethos and female founders.”

Meghan recalled making a concentrated effort to wear clothing from smaller businesses when she was still a working member of the British monarchy, adding that she favoured brands that had a cause that was close to her heart.

She continued, “You know, there was a long time where… I wasn’t out talking. So if you couldn’t hear me, how could I be heard through what I was wearing if that was what people were focusing on?”

The mom-of-two recognised her influence in the fashion world, adding how she didn’t need to “say a word” about the brands that she wore because being seen out in public with the clothing items she chose would “move product for small companies.”

Meghan elaborated a little more on the cause behind one of the brands she wore—Outland Denim, which she said hires survivors of human trafficking, is environmentally friendly, and has a B Corporation certification.

The Duchess of Sussex noted that wearing the brand “would take women out of positions of being trafficked and instead give them jobs… by wearing those jeans, I knew it was going to allow them to save more women.”