JOULES, HOBBS, REISS AND OTHER 'BRITISH' BRANDS

[sylviewylvie]

Hi everyone,
I have a quick question for people who live in the UK.

There's something that bugs me about 'British' clothing brands that flaunt their Britishness, but nearly all of their clothing care labels state that their clothing is made cheaply abroad.

This kind of saddens me personally because my family went bankrupt in the 80s due to this. They used to successfully manufacture clothing for some of these brands until they were ditched for cheap overseas manufacture. They had to make hundreds of employees redundant and they saw so many other manufacturers go bust.

I would just like to hear your opinion: would you be more likely to buy clothing from a 'Quintessentially British' brand which manufactures its clothing here in the United Kingdom if it’s just as good as your favourite brand and if it costs the same? I would really appreciate your responses about why or why not, if you have the time.


Thanks,
Sylvie :)

it can be done for luxury goods - believe brora for example, is profitable, but i don't think it's likely for mass manufacture - see for example boden's margins are lower than I'd expected. Will peruse celtic and co with greater interest!

Didn’t Mary Portas try it with pants and it didn’t last?

I haven't read this article properly yet (I really must go and do some work...) but it looks interesting. www.ft.com/content/b163a94c-9f77-11e6-891e-abe238dee8e2

And I looked on the Margaret Howell website and it seems like the men's shirts are made in her own London factory. Good to see even if she's way out of my league price-wise.

God dammit I forgot there'd be a paywall, sorry. I just found it by random googling so if you google 'Will UK fashion survive Brexit?' you might be able to get it it.

There's a British brand called HotSquash who make all their clothes in Tottenham, I know because my friend works there. She says that Hotsquash placed their manufacturing in a London factory which had originally expanded for a popular UK high street store. After a year of producing clothes for the high street they were dropped without warning (as production was moved back overseas) and on the brink of bankruptcy, when HotSquash stepped in, giving them work again.
My friend was really pleased when people who had lost their jobs were rehired because of HotSquash, she said it was one of the most satisfying parts of her career, and now she just has to keep the company growing so they all get to remain employed!!

I absolutely would pay more for British-made products.

What pisses me off is when previously luxury brands start churning out cheap, badly made tat, and still charge the same prices.

I used to buy Rachel Riley clothes for my eldest DC. They were made in France and excellent quality. This year I bought 4 dresses for my DD, all around £100 each, and the quality was terrible. They were all made in Asia from crap fabrics and the first one she wore literally fell apart the first time she wore it. We were at a very grand function and had to leave because her dress had fallen apart.

These companies are greedy bastards.

... and don't even get me started on Boden. I get so angry with myself when, after being seduced by their clever marketing, I end up with another dishrag for a dress that cost a fortune.

One more then I really must do some work: Solovair shoes are made in the UK in Northamptonshire. I noticed Toast were modelling them in their latest catalogue.

The opposite is happening in India by the way - Indian clothes designed and made in Britain are all the rage.

This a really interesting subject. I know people manufacturing in the Highlands and Islands, really really niche markets. They will never ever be a household name but will earn enough to support their families.

The only way I can see British made clothes being an option for the masses again is if it is idependent outlets, no massice chains. So only after some massive global crash that crushes us back to medieval time. There's a happy thought.

Also I'd love to see legislation saying if it's sold in the U.K. it must be made by people who are treated as though they were in the U.K. The reality of large factories is shocking. And companies are getting the benefit.

I'd love to see legislation saying if it's sold in the U.K. it must be made by people who are treated as though they were in the U.K.

I very much agree with this.

Also, I would like to see an end to 'disposable' clothing, e.g. Primark. Sure, it may be cheap, but does not last and ends up in landfill. Far better to have fewer clothes of a better quality and not made by exploited children.

The problem is though that for many people - and some them live in the very places where we used to make this stuff - Primark is what's affordable. And as long as we're stuck in this cycle of stagnating wages and crazy housing costs then I can't see that changing.

Lady V London: ladyvlondon.com/
Heyday: www.heydayonline.co.uk/default/
La Riviera clothing and Terry Smith shoes: morellos-clothing.co.uk/
Neal's Yard remedies and skin care: www.nealsyardremedies.com/about-us-pages/about-us.html

A website about British products and manufacturing: makeitbritish.co.uk/category/top-ten/

I'm not a nationalist; it tends to be better for the environment and economy if we keep manufacturing in the UK, and things are less likely to be made in a sweatshop or by slave labour than they are in other parts of the world. And why not use the skills of people who live here and enjoy the rewards of keeping manufacturing in the UK? There is nothing wrong with buying goods from all over the world, but it has become much easier to exclusively buy goods made abroad and harder to buy (even by accident) goods made here.

OP like you I find it irritating when a brand uses some kind of flimsy British identity to sell products made abroad (looking at you James Dyson). Why not tell us more about where they're actually made and who actually makes them instead of hiding behind some made-up Union Flag advertising facade? That's nationalism. (And then to have the nerve to weigh in on the Brexit debate when you keep your funds offshore, well...)

You could buy a Henry instead (made in Somerset): www.numatic.co.uk/

I'm about to order a skirt from Izzy Lane wool is from British sheep and manufactured in the UK it's around 150 pounds. It will last for years.

I think it is about the scale of manufacturing. If we had the large factories of yesteryear we could get the prices down.

Izzy Lane prices don't look any higher than Toast. And I know Toast are expensive but they ship most of it in from China and stick in an Ocado voucher (and I speak as a fan).

Liberty tana lawn fabric, not sure where it's woven but it is printed up in Lancaster, J Crew use that as well as the Yorkshire tweed. If we can produce the fabric, why can't we make the clothes.

For sheepskin boots etc.

www.celticandco.com

Celtic & Co are a wonderful company. I highly recommend. I have boots and knitwear.

Good boots on that site. Just had a look.

I think the tailoring industry can be a good way of creating and sharing wealth with poorer countries- or at least people living in extreme poverty overseas. There has to be stringent monitoring of slavery/trafficking etc (Hobbs are good at this) but otherwise I see it as a good thing. You can have a beautifully crafted bespoke suit made in Hong Kong for a small fraction of the Saville Row prices.

There are still a good few dressmakers around who will make your clothes to either a paper pattern or from copying something you already have. The quality is excellent usually and you are definitely supporting British small businesses. It's significantly cheaper than some high street retailers.

Thought of this thread today when I saw this jacket in Hobbs The website says the tweed was woven in Yorkshire but in the shop it also has a 'Made in the UK' label which to me, implies manufactured here too? If that is the case, I'm surprised they're not making a bigger deal of it. Fairly standard Hobbs price.

There's also a skirt in the same Yorkshire fabric but the label for that states 'Made in Rumania' which again impllies the jacket is authentically UK made.

It's a lovely colour, I think - much more subtle than it looks onscreen as is often the case with tweed.

I don't like the brands in the OP, but I do buy as much British clothing as I can because it lasts ages and is generally made of better fabrics. I like Brora (in the sale) and love these for shoes : www.greenshoes.co.uk/
I have boots from green shoes that have lasted me 10 years.

Primary is Irish though. The head office and buyers are based in Ireland.

I don't really mind if a brand is made in the uk or elsewhere, I don't think it affects the 'britishness', that, to me, is the design - being done in uk.

I would have been more likely to buy it if it were made in the UK, due to supporting local communities etc, but I now live in another EU country where supporting national companies is very much the done thing at all costs. I recently deliberated over buying a jacket at a clothes shop Potatoes, and all of their clothes are manufactured in Poland. The quality is very good as is the cut and material, but the price when I hesitated in the store would have been quite expensive in £. Later DH said that I should go back and get it as it suited me nicely and it was worth the price etc. Neighbours and friends all seem to buy local and the economy is doing very well as a result.

In the UK the retail ideal is to buy & sell cheaply and to live expensively, whereas it is the opposite here in mainland EU. People buy & sell things at eyewatering prices (somewhat artisanal) and live frugally (rent flats rather than buy etc, shop extensively in Netto, Lidl type shops or at markets). Also there is an extensive industry of apprentichips which helps to make various industries self replenishing; I went to church years ago with a young lady who had an apprentiship in jewery making, and she was in her 2nd year. She probably has a job now etc, but her pay covered her rent and living costs. And she was not middle class. She was and is one of many, so there is a sufficient workforce for industry. My local council does a weekend of internship open days, like a job fair for 16+ year olds or even older adults wanting to retrain and do internships. It is very commonplace. The UK needs to readjust the idea that everyone needs to be firstly sent off to uni before then finding out what they really want to do.

I don't know if this was what tbb was implying, but British brands, like Joules, White stuff, etc often make the mistake of celebrating Britishness by means of whiteness, which then smacks hypocrisy when their items are made abroad. In their flyers and adverts they need to be more inclusive to get the brown and black pound, and stop purporting this whole anglo-saxon countryside life. If you imagine that you are a 2nd or 3rd generation child or grandchild of an immigrant and you have enough money to buy a high quality jumper, and your two choices on the high street are a boutique type shop that promotes white country life horsey types or primark, which one will you feel welcomed into to spend your money? The primark employees will not make you feel unwelcome as it is not trying to sell a particular lifestyle that leads to exclusivity.