PROTECTION FOR FAIR ISLE KNITWEAR

A recent short article in The Economist highlights the all too familiar issues surrounding the production of Fair Isle garments. Here are a couple of choice quotes:

'Only 70 people live on Fair Isle itself and only four of them knit. Each sweater takes about 100 hours; the island's annual production is about 30 sweaters, 200 hats and 30 scarves. These are sold only in the island shop, which is cleared out when the summer's first cruise ship calls, says Mati Ventrillon, a French-Venezuelan who runs the craft co-operative.' (The Economist)

'My ladies are in their 70s and 80s. They learned it from their grandmothers, but no one is learning from them.' (Ms. Teresa Fritschi, an American who runs a Scottish luxury-goods website and believes the island's knitters could earn much more if Fair Isle products enjoyed the same legal protection against imitation as Harris Tweed.)

Image from Reel Knitting

FAIR ISLE JUMPERS ON BUSINESS OF FASHION... WELL I NEVER

'FAIR ISLE, United Kingdom — On the most remote inhabited island in Britain, 24 miles south of the Shetland mainland, 27 miles north of the Orkney Islands and 250 miles west of Norway, it’s always sweater season. With 600-foot cliffs overlooking the North Sea, thousands of acres of peat bog and a climate that’s perennially cool and damp, Fair Isle is a rugged place where wool is a way of life.'

So starts an informative piece on the usually luxury brand-centric fashion site Business of Fashion. Briefly covering the history of the remote island's knitwear industry, the article discusses the 'missed opportunity' that some of the natives believe has passed their unique product by.

'Classic design, quality and authenticity matter,' the article continues, 'At the same time, increasingly informed and selective shoppers are asking more and more questions about where and how their products are made. They want to know that the whole life of their product was thought about and guided by the same care and attention as the finished piece.' Hear hear.

Image from Fair Isle