John Smedley becomes brand partner and key sponsor of Great British Wool Revival
It's part of a wider movement across fashion that sees natural materials promoted as a more environmentally-friendly option and also that increasingly sees companies embracing local sourcing.
GBWR said wool 'is perfectly positioned to play a pivotal role in sustainable and regenerative fashion systems, and to support local economies, from rural farmers to designers and businesses of all sizes'.
Over 200 companies have joined it to date as it 'aims to support the collective ambition to increase the uptake of British wool'.
As the oldest knitwear manufacturer in the world that also focuses on the benefits of British craftsmanship across its manufacturing, it's no surprise that John Smedley is now deeply involved.
The brand introduced British wool in 2015 and it has become a mainstay of limited-edition and mainline winter collections, 'showcasing the best of British sheep including the heralded Blue Faced Leicester and Cheviot breeds, wools from the Duchy of Cornwall Estate, Alpaca and Guanaco fibres'.
It uses the yarn for machine knits made at its factory in Lea Mills, Matlock, and also for hand-knitted pieces by individual artisans that take over 100 hours to knit.
So what will its GBWR link-up involve? The collaboration covering this year and next will see the platforming of British wools across a range of projects. For instance, working alongside Derby Museums, John Smedley's Sustainable School Uniform Project aims to educate the young on the benefits of British wool, allowing students to create the school jumper of the future.
And its winter campaign will showcase the capabilities of British wool across both commercial machine-knitted products and hand-knitted yarn and one-off pieces, 'allowing the audience to engage with the textile and the stories of the farmers, spinners and knitters within these processes'.
As mentioned, this will also mark the first time John Smedley makes available its yarns and knitting patterns to enable consumers to make their own sustainable sweater.
Meanwhile, next spring John Smedley and GBWR will come together for the UK Wool Conference in association with The King's Foundation 'to address the current challenges and potential opportunities for British wool, with the view to provide more brands with support in developing collections with British wool from AW26'.
The company's MD Jess Mcguire-Dudley said: 'For over 10 years since I first joined the John Smedley company, we have been championing British wools across our collections, and since that time our use of British wools has grown by over 50%, I am delighted that one of my first acts as Managing Director is to further our support for this wonderful fibre by partnering with The Great British Wool Revival to ensure the tools they are creating can continue to support the wider industry.
'We saw how much our offer to support brands with British manufacturing by opening up our third-party manufacturing resonated, and I would urge these brands now also look to British wools to create truly traceable collections full of provenance. Together we can hope to rebuild the wonderful traditions and crafts of the UK by supporting the many artisans across farm, spinning, design, manufacturing and many other areas.'
And Fashion Roundtable founder Tamara Cincik added: 'The Great British Wool Revival is a timely initiative, which we created to plug a systems gap from farm to designer and industry. This supported the fantastic Modern Artisans Programme for the King's Foundation and aligns with our shared values of provenance, local supply chains, textile craft and best of British. We are delighted to be partnering with John Smedley to continue this important and timely work.'
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