FABRIC

Our tweed is not only woven in Carmarthenshire but also made from wool fibre that is grown in Wales. Used in our Cambrian Gilet and Welsh Wool Hoodie, this fabric supports our local rural economy, supports sustainable development in sheep farming and helps to preserve the traditional skills of our area.

Wool naturally sheds dirt and odours, keeps you warm - even when wet, is easy to repair and when a garment eventually comes to the end of its life it can be composted, returning nutrients to the soil.

We use organic cotton for linings. Organic certification ensures that textiles are produced responsibly from growing the fibre with careful water management and without harmful pesticides or chemical fertilisers, through to spinning, weaving and dying. Organic certification also stipulates fair wages and supportive working conditions for all those involved along the way.

MERINO

We carefully considered whether or not to add merino to our collection. Being advocates for our local Welsh wool it seemed potentially incongruous to import a sheep fibre from abroad. However, we believe in creating clothing that not only supports our local economy, but is also designed to support living in our northern climate. Warmer layers mean less heating and, we hope, a more seamless integration with the outside.

Our Welsh wool makes incredible outer wear, but even the hardiest of us find it uncomfortable next to the skin! Garments made from our beautiful native wool are nearly always lined with cotton or linen (or something synthetic), neither of which are grown in the UK and must be imported.

Because merino is a finer wool fibre, it is softer to wear, but also extremely difficult to produce in the UK climate without if felting onto the sheep’s back. Most merino comes from huge farms in Australia with questionable animal welfare practices. We have chosen to use merino from traditionally shepherded, high altitude Argentine flocks. The low density farming practises and cooler, dryer conditions mean that mulesing is never (and has never been) practised in Argentina.

The merino is spun into fine yarns that can then be processed by our local weavers here in Carmarthenshire - experts in producing warm and durable shirt weight flannel.

LINEN

Our shirts are made from European Flax and recycled cotton. This innovative fabric was developed by weavers in Norther Ireland, who are members of the European Masters of Linen and the Irish Linen Guild, continuing the weaving legacy of Ireland. Linen is one of the most sustainable textiles known to man. Flax is easy to grow (80% of flax used globally is grown in Europe), requires no pesticides and uses a fraction of the quantity of water compared to cotton. The resulting textile is hardwearing, dries quicker than cotton and is better at regulating body temperature.

DESIGN

Our garments are designed for life. They are pieces that you will come back to day after day because they are comfortable, practical and make you feel good. They are designed with a their whole lifecycle in mind. The way they are constructed allows them to be repaired; we use buttons instead of zips, cuffs can be replaced, fabrics can easily be patched and darned.

We don’t use synthetic interfacings and are working towards all sewing threads being organic cotton.

We only make a few garments at one time and often make to order, which eliminates garment waste. We take time with our layouts to make sure that cutting is as efficient as possible and all fabric scraps are used either by us or other makers to produce smaller items (or they get composed if they are too small!)