When I see “Made in Britain” thrown around as marketing my bullshit detector always goes into DEFCON 1 mode. There is such a massive disconnect between how brands talk about British manufacturing and what is actually going on behind the scenes that I think it’s about time we had a good old fashioned rant about it. For years I’ve watched claims of British manufacturing slowly but surely degrade from outright lies to charming little half truths that would make Michael Howard blush.
Labels proudly shouting U.K made increasingly paper over the cracks of where their products are actually made with each passing season. Not much seems to actually be made in Britain anymore butthe garments increasingly claim to be. A few years ago I visited a factory in Leicester that was finishing garments for a high profile British brand that screamed about manufacturing in Britain in every other ad they put out.
They were attaching buttons and sewing in labels on jumpers that had been knitted elsewhere in Eastern Europe. When I questioned the factory manager he looked at me with a shrug and said “It’s British enough for the labels, innit?” British enough for the labels but not British enough for me.
Obviously not every “British made” claim is false.
There are plenty of brilliant manufacturers making awesome products right here in the UK. My issue is with brands that sit in the grey area; things that are technically legally-made-in-britain-but-definitely-not-the-whole-thing-british. Enough of my preamble, lets talk specifics about what we can realistically expect these days when something is labelled as “Made in Britain” depending on what you’re looking to buy: If you’ve read any of my previous content you’ll know that I loathe ambiguous phrases in menswear.
That confusion extends to British textile production regulations which are about as muddy as the Thames. When we were still in the EU we operated under the EU’s rules of origin, fairly stringent regulations about what could and couldn’t be labelled as made in Britain. After Brexit we conveniently ditched those rules in favour of more lax guidelines.
At the moment, for a garment to be classed as “Made in Britain” it must have undergone it’s “last substantial transformation” here in the U.K. Which leads to the inevitable question; what constitutes a “substantial transformation”? Buttons?
Labels? Zippers? Not great.
I once asked a compliance manager for a major department store chain to define what qualified as British- made under their policies. After fifteen minutes of nebulous responses which looped increasingly closer back to herself she eventually sighed and said “Look, if someone complains about it we just have to be able to justify it. Basically it’sBritish enough.” Now imagine paying top dollar for that “British enough”.
Luxury – British Made: British Up at the top end of the market you can generally expect things to be properly made in Britain. Private White V.C make their clothes completely in Manchester. Crockett & Jones make their shoes completely in Northampton.
Sunspel make a lot of stuff in Long Eaton. Brands in this price range will typically be open about how and where they make things and happy to answer questions about the specifics of their process. The tradeoff?
They are insultingly expensive. £200+ t-shirts. £400+ shoes. British labour, materials and overheads are expensive for a reason and anyone buying a £120 Sunspel Grandad shirt already knows that. That price tag isn’t’a scandal – it’s the cold hard facts of where we’re at with manufacturing in Britain today.
When I visited Private White’s factory back in 2020 I saw a single raincoat pass through the hands of 11 different tradespeople; pattern cutters, machinists, button hole makers etc. Their machinists were all on above living wage, with full benefits and lovely working conditions. James Eden, who runs the company told me “We could cut corners left right and centre and still stamp ‘Made in Britain’ on the label but then what’s the point?
We’re doing this because we want to do it properly.” That attention to detail and commitment to genuine British manufacturing is why their clothes cost what they do. If you want something made in Britain, you’re going to have to pay for it. Mid Market – Partially Made in Britain This is where we start to get murkier, brands that are too expensive to be considered high street but aren’t luxury enough to fully commit to making everything in Britain.
This isn’t to say these brands aren’t made in Britain at all, just that they tend to play fast and loose with who actually makes their products and where. Take your typical “Designed in London, Made in Britain” jacket that retails for around £250-400. The yarn was probably spun in Italy or China.
The fabric was probably woven in Portugal or Turkey. The cutting and primary assembly was probably done in Eastern Europe or North Africa. But then the final construction; putting linings in, adding buttons, sewing on labels was probably done in the U.K.
Technically this would pass muster but it’s a long way from the image many of these brands want you to think of; bespectacled tailors hand stitching glorious garments in dimly lit workshops. I’ve had some enlightening conversations with owners of mid-market menswear brands about this practise. One summed it up for me over drinks saying “We’d go bust overnight if we made everything in Britain.
British made is part of our story, it’s not the whole story.” Another told me; “Nobody wants to pay full British prices. They want the ‘Made in Britain’ tick but at a fraction of the cost. This is the compromise.” High Street – Doesn’t F—ing Matter Your high street has fully embraced British made.
Heck half their stuff is called “British Cotton”, “UK Workshop” or “Heritage Craft”. Problem is you know damned well that none of it is actually made in Britain. If you see that £35 jumper that says it’s made from “British wool” it means one of three things; Either the sheep it was shorn from graze in fields on British soil before being shipped to who knows where for every step in the manufacturing process.
Or it was designed here in the UK and shipped elsewhere to be made. Or some minuscule portion of that item was made in Britain (sometimes as little as the final pressing and packaging). I recently pulled apart a £35 “Proudly Made in Britain” shirt from one of the high street giants.
After an email chain longer than Tolstoy’s novels I finally managed to get their factory in the UK on the phone. Turns out the cotton was grown in Africa. Then spun and woven in Asia.
Cut and sewn in North Africa. Then sent to the UK for final pressing, packaging and labelling. Welcome to made in Britain, bu*****.
Speaking of cotton, where is actually grown and processed barely matters anymore in discussing made in Britain. Our textile industry these days caters overwhelmingly to the luxury end of the market. We still produce world class woollens, tweeds and technical fabrics but domestic mills supply next to no cotton, polyester or basic wool used in most clothing today.
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Does that mean companies using “British” materials are lying? Of course not. But it does mean you should ask questions if you see a brand claim they use British materials.
British wool that was sent to Italy for spinning and weaving? British imported cotton woven at one of our dwindling remaining mills? You have a right to know.
There are some great mills still operating that use 100% British materials. Abraham Moon & Sons in Yorkshire is one of the best. You’ll see their fabrics used at brands like Harris Turner, Huntsmans and British Woollens.
But they also produce fabrics for extremely high end brands; Harris Wharf London, William Lock and Tommy Nutter. If you see “British fabric” being used on a £150 jacket my advice is to view that claim with skepticism. This whole discussion about wool reminds me of another tricky subject.
BRITISH BRANDS VS BRITISH MADE Many brands with proud British heritage now make next to nothing in Britain. They’ll ride on a reputation of centuries of British craftsmanship whilst disemboweling their own country in favour of the cheapest production abroad. They’ll plaster their marketing materials with founding dates, royal warrants and everything else they can lay their hands on; deliberately quiet on where their products are actually made these days.
I could name names but you know who they are. Iconic British brands that these days make literally zero percent of their products in Britain. Brands that if you ask them will proudly inform you they “designed and developed” their products in Britain.
News flash – so does iPadGuy. The UK shoe industry is particularly fascinating when it comes to British made. Whilst Northamptonshire is still home to some genuinely British made companies (Crockett & Jones, Tricker’s, Cheaney to name a few) there are varying degrees of how British your average British shoe actually is.
Some brands buy their “British” shoe upper in another country then ship it to their own factory in the UK for lasting and finishing. Others will make standard lines abroad but keep smaller special editions or custom orders in Britain. These aren’t practices that brands will advertise.
You have to ask specific questions about specific products. I spoke to a salesperson at a well known boot company about their £395 Chelsea boots; “Oh yes we make boots in Britain, we’ve been doing it since 1851.” What year is it again sir? “This specific model? They’re made in Asia.” Good stuff.
Try the heritage collection thats twice the price. At least they were honest about that range still being made in Britain. It’s not mentioned on the website or anywhere on their marketing materials.
If you’re actually wanting to buy something British made there are things you can look out for; Ask questions. If a brand is aggro about you asking where things are made stay clear. Vague terms like “British design”, “heritage” and “style” are meaningless with regards to where something is made.
Even “Made in Britain” should be taken with a pinch of salt these days. If it looks too good to be true it probably is. Authentic British made garments aren’t cheap for a reason.
Look for details on how and where things are made. Brands that transparently list specific factories, towns and production methods on their websites labelling are generally the most trustworthy. If a brand owns their own factory you know the stuff comes from there.
Hiut Denim and Private White are two great examples. Likewise if a brand has longstanding relationships with specific British manufacturers you can be fairly certain stuff is made where they say it is. Companies like CP Crafts in Liverpool and Garpel in Suffolk.
Some brands are doing a great job of keeping British manufacturing alive and deserve a shout; Community Clothing is Patrick Grants social enterprise brand and one of the only brands that can compete with luxury prices whilst being completely transparent and honest about their British supply chain. They do this not by fudging where things are made but by cutting outmiddlemen and not making a single penny in profit on the clothes they sell. Hiut Denim make their jeans completely in Wales.
Every pair is signed by the person who made them. Blackhorse Lane Ateliers make bona fide London made denim in their factory down in Walthamstow. Fox Umbrellas still make their umbrellas by hand in Surrey.
Corgi still make knitwear in Wales. Chapman still make bags in Cumbria. These aren’t brands that will throw every garment they sell in your face as “made in Britain”.
They tend to specialise in one category and absolutely nail it. Which is exactly how you should be looking at British made these days. Buy less.
Buy specialised. And if you want that thing to be British made, support the brands keeping it alive.
Can we still buy things made in Britain?
Of course we can. Is it as ubiquitous as it once was? Hell no.
Part of the reason we lost so much of our manufacturing wasn’t just greed, it was consumer demand. British consumers stopped supporting British manufacturing decades ago and instead opted for cheap clothing. Factories closed.
Skills were lost. You don’t rebuild that overnight and it’s notcheap to do so. I’m glad we’re showing an interest in it these days but we also have to be careful about all the rampant greenwashing and “Brit-washing” going on.
If supporting genuine British made is important to you; ask more questions, be prepared to pay more and accept you’ll own less stuff. But at least what you do own will genuinely be what you think it is.
