Organic tartan proving a hit
New Lanark has been spinning wool since 1786, when it was founded as a cotton spinning mill village by David Dale and Richard Arkwright. In the business world more than 300 years later it is important to not only keep up with the times, but strive to be ahead of the pack.
Like so many good ideas, this came to me while shopping in the local supermarket – looking at various everyday products, I realised that nearly all had an organic version available, whether it be bread, milk, coffee or honey. It was a lightbulb moment when I realised that no-one produced organic tartan. If there was a market for virtually every other product then surely there must be one for this uniquely Scottish cloth.
Fast forward 25 years and just ahead of St Andrew’s Day in 2015, the textiles team at New Lanark World Heritage Site honoured their Scottish connections by launching the world’s first organic tartan certified by the Soil Association. It was unveiled at a launch event at the New Lanark Mill Shop, where it is exclusively sold through a collection of throws, bags, purses and cushions. These continue to sell well as do New Lanark’s tartan skirts, just introduced to the product line.
The creation of the tartan was entirely organic from sheep to finished product and we were absolutely delighted with the results. I had fantastic support from the Soil Association (whose Organic September campaign is currently in full swing) and the team at New Lanark in making the project a success.
The colours of the tartan were inspired by the unique landscape which surrounds New Lanark, the blues and purples of the River Clyde and the bright greens and yellow of the foliage around the village. It’s certainly very unusual and I think it’s the nicest tartan I’ve seen – although I may be biased.
New Lanark’s Organic Tartan is made in the UK using 100 per cent organic wool, much of which comes from the Prince of Wales’ flock based at Highgrove. The fleece is then scoured at Hawarth Scouring before being sent to New Lanark Mills to be blended, carded and spun into top quality yarn using traditional methods on historic machinery.
The yarn is then dyed at Paint Box Textiles, Bradford. The tartan was designed and woven by Lochcarron of Scotland, and finally the tartan was finished by Schofield of Galashiels. The tartan was officially registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans in September 2015 and the Soil Association inspected and certified every stage.
New Lanark Knitwear & Accessories sales using the organic yarn equate to some 8 per cent of the total sales from the textile area (including yarn sales), and sales in this area are steadily increasing and I am confident that this will continue to grow as new products are created. ● Alan Barrowclough is textiles and project manager at New Lanark Mills.