My scarf brand, Bknit, champions ‘Made in Britain’ supporting the preservation of UK manufacturing and craft skills; and using local manufacturing to lower our carbon footprint and boost our local economy. Of course there are challenges in doing this. Whereas I buy from Hinchcliffe, a 6th generation mill, who spin and dye their lambswool fibres in Yorkshire, England, who produce excellent wools for knitting, weaving, felting and dyeing, their 1/15Nm ‘Super Geelong Lambswool’ that I use is sourced from Geelong in Australia! I currently use this yarn because it is comparable to cashmere for warmth, is luxurious soft to handle, is elegant, comfortable and a practical yarn.
Wool is such an incredible fibre for my products. Wool can be recycled; it is compostable, biodegradable and naturally renewable, making it friendly to the environment. It makes a fabric that can breathe, is elastic, gives natural odour control, warms us when we are cold and cools us when we overheat. Also by investing in wool we are supporting regenerative agriculture. Sheep are key to good soil health. Including animals in farming systems can reduce the need for fertilisers and implementing rotational grazing techniques ensures that grass is trimmed regularly, allowing it to re-grow, store more carbon in its roots and support biodiversity in and above the soil.
I use Hinchcliffe because they care about being a sustainable business, producing all natural materials, no man-made or acrylic. None of their processes use azo dyes, formaldehyde, carcinogenic, hazardous or allergy inducing products, and strive to decrease their carbon footprint and energy consumption. They have also created a 100 percent British wool yarn. It took them many trials to find the right breed of sheep to produce a yarn to the specifications of their customers. It is great to see Hinchcliffe caring about their carbon footprint and also aiming to preserve our environment and supporting local farmers. It will be great to trial this yarn at some point in the future.
But for the moment they recognise that Australian wool growers do take pride in what they do, implement innovative and sustainable farming practices to secure the industry’s future, and produce the world's best wool and it is also great to support that.
Compatible with my brand’s aims, all my products are produced at a Mill in Innerleithen, in the Scottish borders. Each product is individually machine knitted on modern knit technology and hand finished by skilled craftsmen and craftswomen who have decades of experience behind them. It is really important to support the rich and diverse Scottish woollen manufacturers. They are craftspeople devoted to their work rooted in so much experience and tradition and we need to preserve this heritage.
