The Great British Wool Revival Summit: A Clip to Consumer celebration that explored Shared Values, Real Farmers Voices and Fibre Sovereignty at Dumfries House.
An Op-Ed by Harriet Fletcher-Gilhuys, Textiles Researcher at Fashion Roundtable and consultant at The King's Foundation
The Great British Wool Revival Summit. Panel 3: From Awareness to Action: Can British Wool Win the Consumer? Tamara Cincik speaking. Image Credit: Jamie Simpson
Last week was a pinch-me moment for the team at Fashion Roundtable. We delivered the first ever clip to consumer, British wool summit of its kind, the inaugural Great British Wool Revival summit! And not only that, it was hosted at the headquarters of The King’s Foundation, Dumfries House, meaning all our messaging and aligned thinking was rolled into the event: from fields of sheep, to rural skills, from farmers literally farming, to dyers, spinners, designers and educators, our event was sold out and we could not be prouder of bridging the gap between farming and fashion. At a time when so many of us are unwittingly wearing petrochemical clothing, such as polyester and nylon, it was so refreshing to see a packed congregation of people sharing skills, experience, and insights for what is after all, a natural, biodegradable and hypoallergenic fibre, wool.
The summit came from the initial idea led by Tamara Cincik, the CEO of Fashion Roundtable and Founder of the Great British Wool Revival (GBWR) who wanted to put right the mess we have found ourselves in: where farmers pay more to shear their sheep, which they have to do for animal welfare - and rightly so - and where what we wear and where we buy from is so far removed from localised value chains which support UK wide business from farms to mills, from spinners, to dyers and designers, and all for a fabric which is as evocative as a baby’s blanket, or what we wear when we need a cuddle. As Textiles Researcher at Fashion Roundtable, for me personally, it was brilliant to see a project since it’s inception: from mapping out farms, speaking to manufacturers and even doing a voice over for the 3 part animation series about wool from the middle ages on our website which we launched in September 2024, come to life in 3D at the summit, with sheep “baaing” the background - if that wasn’t enough to set the scene I don’t know what is!
My journey started at dawn from Euston station, with a coffee in hand and ready to board my 5.5 hour train up to Auchinleck, 2 miles northwest of Cumnock in East Ayrshire. As I began to relax on the way out of London, I started to absorb the countryside and sheep out of the windows grazing over the hills up to Scotland. I started joining the dots between urban and rural living, something that’s often a disconnect, but for me growing up in rural Shropshire and now living in London, I feel my worlds have almost merged into one. This is why the GBWR is so important to me: it’s a chance to connect communities, make rural environments more accessible and ensure that British farmers and their wool remains valued and cherished. The constant complaints I used to hear from my neighbours, was that they couldn’t sell their wool. This map is just the beginning. I started to reflect on what we’ve achieved so far.
In the first 6 months, we saw over 200 brands and businesses join the map and it now supports over 600 stakeholders across the full value chain. We have led on British wool modules, that we’ve taught in collaboration with Istituto Marangoni, which saw students travelling to Ireland to visit farms for research (which goes way above the expectation of an average learning outcome). We have seen the price of British Wool increasing by 29% at auction. This all sits as proof of concept that the narrative is changing, people want British wool in education, their wardrobes and their homes. This is what Tamara and the team do best: focus on a situation, change perceptions and generate positive outcomes. The website operates not just as a guide, but a hands on tool kit, with the added benefit of a consultancy service to help you every step of the way, from flock to fashion. We have helped brands build their business and love seeing their ambitions become designs and highly sellable, totally covetable, treasured pieces. To book in for a 15 minute discovery call, just reach out to us here.
For me, it’s been incredible to see this level of growth, from theory right through to practice. The website supports everyone, from the local farmer down the road with a small flock of sheep to a leading luxury British fashion brand. It was designed to deliver, grow, adapt and mold to fit the needs of the public ensuring a fairer and more regenerative future.
Image Credit: Jamie Simpson
Jim Robertson, Chairmen of British Wool in conversation with Oliver Lee, Farming and Rural Skills Senior Manager at The King’s Foundation. Video Credit: Jeremy Fusco
As a celebration of the remarkable Great British Wool Revival (GBWR) initiative launched in September 2024 that re-mapped a broken British wool system in the UK by connecting farmers, manufacturers, designers and makers across the entire value chain, the inaugural Great British Wool Revival Summit was proof its success and a pivotal opportunity to discuss the future, and any ongoing challenges that farmers are facing to future proof the next generation.
The summit saw stakeholders joining forces over the two days to discuss this natural fibre and regenerative resource, which is grown and sourced from soil to soil. A few key take home points from the Industry day are below:
The day began with an expert farmers panel chaired by Oliver Lee (Senior Educator in Farming and Rural Skills) at The King’s Foundation. We saw input from Jim Robertson (Chairman of British Wool), David Barton (National Livestock Board Chair, National Farmers Union) and Lucy McGillivray (Policy Manager Livestock & LFA at the National Farmers Union) to discuss what farmers need and want to make British wool a viable asset. This included reassurance they need to breed sheep for both meat and wool.
A manufacturing panel chaired by Kate Hills (Founder of Make in British). We saw input from Chimaeze Onyeiwu (Head of Supply Chain & Innovation at Johnstons of Elgin), Rachel Carvell-Spedding (Founder of Navy Grey), Margaret Ann Machleod (CEO of Harris Tweed Hebrides) and Joshua Scacheri (Design Director, Gieves & Hawkes) to discuss the realities of British wool in production in the UK. This covered costly overheads for micro businesses and minimum order quantities.
The day rounded off with Kirsty McGregor (Freelance Journalist and Consultant) leading a panel which explored from awareness to action and consumer readiness for British wool. The panel brought together Dee McGilvray (Founder of Clo Fold), Sarah Turner (Founder of Little Beau Sheep & Member of the Woolmen), Tamara Cincik (CEO of Fashion Roundtable and Founder of the GBWR) and Harriet Fletcher-Gilhuys (Textiles Researcher and Fashion Roundtable). During this session the panel delved into the consumer mindset, purchasing habits and understanding green washing or what we often describe as woolwashing at Fashion Roundtable!
Key action points:
Farmers need to be incentivised to breed for both meat and wool and have guaranteed repeat business year on year. One collection is not enough to convince them to breed for wool - this type of commitment takes a lot of time, money and effort. They need to feel valued and respected.
British wool is growing and it’s the small independent brands and producers that are driving this change. Provenance around breed and traceability is engaging manufacturers, spinners and knitters.
We can’t keep blaming the consumer for not purchasing British wool. Labels need to be clear and state what’s actually in the tin. Try to avoid the jargon and stick to basic labelling that states a materials composition and where it was made.
The GBWR has grown from strength to strength since its launch in September 2024, from showcasing at leading design and agricultural events such as the Future Fabrics Expo and Groundswell Agriculture Festival, to securing the Farmers Guardian as official media partners which reaches over 71,000 print readers weekly and 60,000 website views per month. The GBWR summit hosted at The King’s Foundation Headquarters was proof of concept of our achievements to date and really allowed us to deconstruct this narrative increasing fibre sovereignty and aligning with both people and planet.
I wanted to say a massive thank you to all of our amazing supporters who have agreed to come on the GBWR mission with us, joining our long-term goal and future events calendar. Navy Grey, GOTS, British Wool, Melin Tregwynt and Harris Tweed Hebrides. And further thanks to the brilliant King’s Foundation team who have offered us ongoing support and allowed us to host this remarkable event at such a stunning location in line with His Majesty’s Philosophy of Harmony.
We hope that you will all continue to come on the GBWR journey with us: be that joining our map, supporting our future growth through donation, or wearing and championing British wool in your wardrobes and beyond!
Reach out to the GBWR team here