How to buy a kilt - the way it used to be done

[User]

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What is seen in the film is no longer possible - there is now no native wool grown and processed commercially in Scotland.
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I was confused by your statement, because Lochcarron uses Scottish wool for their Strome. I had to re-read it to realize I had glossed over the "and processed" portion.

Although processing is done in England, I do love Lochcarron's commitment to doing as much as possible in Scotland.

Although not all the wool we use can be sourced locally, we converted one of our top selling fabrics, our heavyweight Strome cloth, to being sourced completely within the UK, mainly from Scotland. Recently, we have completed this journey, and now source our Romney Marsh wool from Scottish-farmed sheep, allowing us to create our Strome cloth in 100% Scottish wool. In doing so we are supporting local farming and manufacturing, and our wool is sorted and graded locally at the British Wool depot in Selkirk, subsequently reducing transportation distances and emissions. Up to one quarter of the yarn we use annually is now of Scottish origin.

[Janner52]

Life was definitely slower in the 1950s, and people were better dressed. It would be unusual for a man to be out and about without a jacket and tie even in a manual work environment and I would imagine that the kilt would have been in evidence at some workplaces and definitely in schools.
I wouldn’t want to return to those dress standards but I do believe we may have gone too in the opposite direction.

[Troglodyte]

I was confused by your statement, because Lochcarron uses Scottish wool for their Strome. I had to re-read it to realize I had glossed over the "and processed" portion.

Although processing is done in England, I do love Lochcarron's commitment to doing as much as possible in Scotland.

I am involved with a musuem that has Scottish traditions as its raison d'etre, and encouraging handicrafts such as knitting and weaving is a main feature.

It is impossible to find in practical quantities wool or yarn that is truly Scottish - that is grown, processed and finished in Scotland. There are still weavers and spinners operating on a commercial scale, but they grudgingly admit thier wool is imported or processed outside Scotland.

Modern agricultural practices are partly to blame, as the old breeds have been replaced with those suited to ease of care and meat-yield, which is at the expense of the fleece quality and suitability for the wool-trade. It also demonstrates the hugely successful marketing of the Antipodean producers.

What Lochcarron is doing for Scottish wool is highly commendable, but much more is needed to save both the remains of the domestic wool industry and the breeds of sheep whose fleeces gave the distinctive character to the old cloths. But Scotland is not alone in this, as this is a UK-wide situation, and is even wider than that.

Consequently, every time someone buys a PV kilt, or foreign-made jacket or sporran - indeed, any item of Highland dress made outside Scotland - I see it as them are knocking another nail into the coffin of Scottish culture and tradition.