The Policy Briefing. From Clip to Consumer: Why The Great British Wool Revival is a Policy Proof of Concept.

Why, from farming to fashion, supporting, investing and buying British is the best for all of us

This week, my dream became a reality in the grounds of Dumfries House, the headquarters of The King’s Foundation in Ayrshire, Scotland. For the first time, the entire British wool value chain: farmers, spinners, weavers, designers, manufacturers, educators and policymakers all came together for an event Fashion Roundtable organised in collaboration with The King’s Foundation. An audience of His Majesty’s sheep looked on, a flock in a field reminding us that fashion and design starts with textiles and fibres drawn from nature (ideally, not the petroleum industry).

When I arrived at the Rural Skills Centre at Dumfries House, people were setting up to showcase, I was almost moved to tears seeing my vision in 3D in this most beautiful and prestigious of locations. In the room where there were fleeces on tables, dyers, spinners, knitters, farmers, educators, all showcasing and sharing their stories. While outside we had a flock of sheep in the neighbouring field and a shearing table demo and a pen of sheep in the yard.

There was the kind of conversation about provenance, craft and economic geography that this country has been at real risk of avoiding for decades, and I along with my team and that of The King’s Foundation, are seeking to change. The inaugural Great British Wool Revival Summit was not nostalgia. It was a was a showcase of an end to end revitalised value chain across the UK. Jeremy Clarkson is not the only person with giving agency to the farming community and seeing us all together, over 200 people across the 2 days of the summit, proves it.

The question is, how do we get there?