This week I’m bringing some very sad news - that the UK’s only cotton spinning mill, English Fine Cottons, which brought cotton spinning back to Greater Manchester in 2018, has very sadly gone into administration.
In case you don’t know about the history of English Fine Cottons, it was set up by the technical textile spinners Culimeta-Saveguard, who invested £4.8m of its own money, £2m of which was a loan from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to regenerate a former Victorian cotton mill and install new technology to create luxury yarn. A further £1m was awarded as a grant by the N Brown Textile Growth Programme.
English Fine Cottons was the start of something very exciting in UK manufacturing, and for this to have happened is tragic. The collapse into administration is caused by the parent group Culimeta-Saveguard going down, and unfortunately that has taken the cotton spinning down with it. Something needs to be done to save our only cotton spinning mill, otherwise this is history repeating itself.
So today's episode is a remastered version of a visit that I did to English Fine Cottons in 2019, along with an interview with Andy Ogden, who was the general manager at the time.
219 – 8 Things to do When Sales Aren’t Going to Plan
218 – Recycling Old Clothing into Brand New Luxury Products, Graham Holbrook
217 – You’re Invited to Made in UK Day
216 – Should You Raise Your Prices?
215 – Showcasing Scotland’s Textile Industry, Kitty Bruce-Gardyne
214 – 5 Steps to Getting Your Product Made in the UK
213 – How to Launch an Athleisure Brand Made in the UK
212 – Where to Source Deadstock Fabric – Deborah Lyons & Piarvé Wetshi
211 – The Top 6 Business Trends in 2022 for Brands That Make in the UK
210 – Reflecting on 2021
209 – Running a Brand Championing Diversity, Shanna Bent
208 – How to Plan For 2022
207 – Celebrating the North of England’s Creativity, Charlotte Raffo
206 – There’s more to marketing your brand than just Instagram!
205 – A visit to Shahtex to see seamless garment production
204 – Making luxury lingerie in the UK – Lucy Jones, Lucy Jones Lingerie
203 – 30 years of knitwear manufacturing in Leicester with Mars Knitwear
202 – How I Dealt With the Copycats and Came Out on Top, Monika Young
201 – 7 things that successful British-made brands do
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