Where Are Your Woollens From?
Ethical trading and environmental issues have finally become a very big focus for retailers with more and more pressure from the consumer to abide a clean conduct of business. Some of them don’t just look at the labels to know how would they properly wash their new cashmere scarf, but also to check out where has it been produced. Buying local manufactures you support the “Made in Europe” cause and the European craftsmanship.
When you get a jumper made in China, you are buying something conceived for the mass market with a standard design and usually made of low quality wool. Instead, when you choose a cashmere sweater produced at certified knitters in Italy and Scotland, you head to classic patterns and prime materials that guarantee the test of time. They would also look different on you with a perfect fit and good confection details that make them stand out of the crowd.
That’s how the birthplace of an item can ensures its quality, like it happens with French wines, Belgian chocolates, Swiss watches, and even Argentinian football players. For cashmere knitwear, only the most prestigious mills in Italy and Scotland can provide the longest fine hairs. Regional craftsmen own a long know how of the discipline built on several skilled generations that dedicated their lives to this ancient tradition. Nowadays, Italian and Scottish cashmere manufacturers enjoy a worldwide reputation for excellence while at the opposite side, Chinese producers are associated with lower grade apparel made of less clear coloured fibres.
When purchasing a “Made in Europe” garment you are assured that you are not only buying a high quality piece of clothing but also one that is carefully fabricated and ethically dyed. Taking in consideration the huge benefits that you take within your piece, the price on your bill that does not really represent the brave investment. In the end, looking at the nationality of your sweater is not a matter of discrimination but intelligence.