British-made Sunglasses

Top 10 British-made sunglasses

All the sunny weather in the UK recently has turned our attention to buying some British-made sunglasses. Read on to find out which sunglasses are made in Britain and by whom… We’d also like to give a special mention to

Looking for UK manufacturers? Come to our trade show!

Clothing manufacturers, bag makers, fabric mills, knitwear factories, a wool room and an enterprise room specially for small businesses…find it all at ‘Meet the Manufacturer 2017’ One of the questions that I most often get asked is: ‘Where can I find

Top 20 British Millinery Brands

We bring you our list of the top 20 British Milliners, perfect for all occasions. It is the season for weddings and horse racing, both events which require a fabulous hat! With the help of our friends on Instagram we have put

Mums that Make it British

Press Release: Mums that Make it British Around 54,000 new mothers lose their jobs each year, according to an Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report.  It was statistics like this that prompted Kate Hills, a mother of two young

25 best British Gin Brands

Top 25 British Gin Brands

We like a G&T, so it is with great pleasure we bring you the Top 25 British gin brands “For the past 300 years the British have been making and drinking gins of varying quantities and qualities, but they have never

British Wool – From sheep to loom

Find out how wool is processed from fleece to fabric and why using British wool is important, as we chat to Laura Rosenzweig, the founder of Laura’s Loom. Laura, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you

make it British campaign authentic

Why authenticity is important to us

…and why Make it British is not affiliated with any other ‘made in Britain’ campaigns… I was recently contacted by a web developer, prospecting for some business. His pitch was that he’d been through the code on the Make it

Kate Hills, CEO of Make it British, was interviewed by Jonathan Lampon on BBC Radio Leicester

Make it British on BBC Radio Leicester

Textile manufacturing in Leicester is booming – hear all about it in this interview with Kate Hills, founder of Make it British, on BBC Radio Leicester I was interviewed this morning by BBC Radio Leicester about buying British. It was fantastic to be

English Fine Cottons

A visit to English Fine Cottons

Is Britain really going to be spinning cotton again? Yes it is! It all started at our Meet the Manufacturer conference, apparently. Brendan McCormack, Steve Shaugnessy, and Andy Ogden, joint owners and general manager respectively, of Culimeta-Saveguard, came to the event to

In the Press: Getting on my Soapbox

Make it British was in two articles in the press this week – fighting the cause for UK manufacturing The first article was a soapbox piece for The Telegraph entitled ‘The government must clamp down on firms that claim to manufacture

New report looks at the future of UK manufacturing

What will UK manufacturing look like in the future?

Government report looks at where British manufacturing might stand come the year 2050 Most people reading this website would probably agree that manufacturing here is essential if this country is to achieve long term economic growth. However, the rapid changes

Globe-Trotter suitcase

How a Globe-Trotter suitcase is made

Steve Lancefield’s stunning photos taken inside the Globe-Trotter factory in Hertfordshire depict the craftsmanship that goes into making each suitcase The Globe-Trotter suitcase company was established in Germany in 1897 by an Englishman named David Nelkin. He relocated the company

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Innovation and expansion in British carpet design and manufacture

The unique collaboration between Timorous Beasties and Brintons Carpets was highlighted last week in a fascinating talk organised as part of the Clerkenwell Design Week festival. Founded in 1783, Kidderminster based Brintons Carpets, a worldwide market leader in the supply of

Save a British button manufacturer

British button manufacturer James Grove & Sons went into administration in December 2012 – but now there is a new business rising from its ashes James Grove was the last horn button manufacturer in Britain, and when the business closed

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UK Manufacturers say Government is failing them

Survey reveals UK manufacturers less confident now than before the coalition came to power The results of a survey of 1000 manufacturers carried out by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers last month showed that the Government could be doing more

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Make it British is featured on BBC Radio 4

Radio 4 discusses UK manufacturing on special editon of You & Yours It is great that the media is really getting behind the Made in Britain movement at the moment – the latest example being Radio 4 covering the topic

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Fake it British – the worst example yet?

High Street retailer is caught mis-labeling product as Made in England  – an attempt to confuse or a genuine mistake? Recently I put a call out to our followers on Twitter for a research project that I am doing. I was

British manufacturing apprentices

Why more British manufacturers should be taking on apprentices

As National Apprenticeship Week approaches we look at why more British manufacturers need to invest in the next generation [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFTt8PYls0I] With UK manufacturing now showing signs of growth it is very depressing to read that it is a lack

Scottish lace manufacturers: MYB Textiles

Video of the last remaining Scottish lace producer shows the skill required to produce this delicate fabric [vimeo http://vimeo.com/38014104] MYB Textiles, based in Ayrshire in Scotland, specialise in producing lace for interiors, and are one of the few remaining lace

Why are British factories turning away business?

We look at why UK manufacturers might be saying ‘no’ to potential orders This week I had an email from a lady who was having trouble getting her new handbag range made in the UK. She had approached a small

Debenhams in 'Fake it British' campaign shocker

Retail giant promotes new Made in Britain range with product made overseas This week British department store Debenhams announced that it was developing a new range for its stores that supported British manufacturing. Entitled ‘Made by Great Britons’, the range of

Long Live The British Factory (photo: Common Sons)

Who says nothing is made in Britain anymore?

Eighteen months ago we set out to prove to people that there was still products made in Britain – and now there are more than ever As a nation, Britain has had a long and successful history of making things.

How popular is made in Britain fashion?

BBC asks 'How popular is made in Britain fashion?'

News feature by BBC makes depressing viewing as retail experts declare price sole driver of British buying decisions Last week the BBC News posed the question of how much of the clothing bought in the UK is actually made in this

10 great reasons to support local manufacturing

A video showing why Ally Capellino uses a Hackney factory to make 40% of her bags inspired us to come up with our top 10 reasons to support local manufacturing The below video is one of a series by DISC (the Designer

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How The Cambridge Satchel Company fought back and won

The story of how British bag makers The Cambridge Satchel Company ended up receiving an undisclosed sum from rival bag firm Zatchels in an out of court settlement It goes something like this…The Cambridge Satchel Company was launched by Julie

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Sites we love: The Harris Tweed Authority blog

Sharing the websites that we love to read about products made in Britain – the first of these is the Harris Tweed Authority blog What’s it all about? Harris Tweed is a fabric dyed and spun in the Scottish Outer

Margaret Howell documents the best of British manufacturers

Designer supports British manufacturers with a map depicting location of British suppliers Margaret Howell has produced a stunning map, currently displayed in the window of eponymous London store, showing all of the British manufacturers that the company uses.

Why you should be buying shoes made in Northampton

Where were your shoes made? If they aren’t from Northamptonshire then they should be. Here’s why… – You are buying into a piece of manufacturing history With 900 years of experience in producing leather and footwear, the English county of

Fake it British – Cashing in on 2012

How everybody is using the Union Jack to sell their product this year, whether it is made in Britain or not Regular readers of this website, as well as those that follow me on Twitter, will know that one of my biggest

The decline of the Lancashire cotton mills

The decline of the Lancashire cotton mills

A little history lesson on the Lancashire cotton mills and a great video made by the British council in 1941 Did you know that Britain used to be the biggest cotton cloth producer in the world? The mechanised spinning and

British manufacturing statistics

British manufacturing statistics

Think that there is no manufacturing left in the fashion & textiles industry in Britain? Here are a few facts and figures that prove otherwise OK, so we don’t make anywhere near as much in the UK as we used

Kinky Knickers

Kinky Knickers by Mary Portas

Mary Portas launches Kinky Knickers made in her British factory – and they’re not pants at all (If you are looking for stockists of Kinky Knickers see the bottom of this page) I must admit that when I reported back

Survey on UK manufacturing

Are you a clothing or accessories designer who works with UK manufacturers? Are you looking for a UK factory to make your products? Are you a UK manufacturer who makes clothing or accessories in the UK? If so, Make it

Some more interesting UK manufacturing statistics

Further to my post a while back with some interesting UK manufacturing statistics , I now have some more great findings* kindly given to me by Stoves, who still manufacture cookers in the UK from their Merseyside headquarters. Their survey

Some interesting statistics on UK manufacturing

An article in this weeks Sunday Times, entitled ‘Made in Britain is so much sweeter’, has some interesting statistics on UK manufacturing. Apparently manufacturing accounts for only 11% of gross domestic product today, compared to 22% 20 years ago. There

Is anything still Made in Britain?

…and what will happen when it no longer becomes cost effective to source from the Far East? These are a couple of the questions that I have been asking myself over the last few years. Having worked in fashion design