The Blog

As a consumer navigating the world of fashion, particularly when it comes to sustainable menswear, you may have noticed that British made products often come with a hefty price tag. This raises an important question: why are these items considered luxury products, and why do they cost so much to buy?

Take, for example, one of my favourite pieces from our Joggers and Sweatpants collection: the Grey Loose Fit Cargo Sweatpants available at Rolf Skeldon, retailing at £165. These sweatpants stand out not only for their design but also for their commitment to sustainability, utilising a deadstock fabric that might have otherwise contributed to landfill waste. The luxurious heavyweight organic fleece used in this product costs an average of £22.33 per garment when factoring in shipping and import fees.

The costs for materials, trims, labels, and packaging amount to £39.50. At first glance, it may seem that subtracting this from the retail price £165 – £39.50 leaves a profit of £125.50, which might appear generous. However, we must also consider the costs associated with manufacturing in the UK. Each garment incurs a manufacturing cost of £45. So, if we recap, this brings the cumulative cost to £84.50.

This figure exceeds what some brands charge for retail products, and we haven’t even touched on overheads. As a small company, we also invest in freelance designers, illustrators, copywriters, and various operational expenses such as rent, rates, fuel bills, and website hosting.

Furthermore, there are hidden manufacturing fees that particularly affect small brands. Large scale overseas manufacturers often waive sampling and pattern cutting fees, operating in bulk to absorb those costs. In contrast, small scale UK manufacturing requires us to pay for pattern cutters’ hourly rates to create scalable templates. Additionally, each sample we need during the design process typically costs two to three times the final production cost. For instance, let’s consider the five garments in our sweatpants collection for which we paid about £135 each. The grading process produced three batches of samples, and without including the costs of couriers, this amounted to around £2,000.

All these factors contribute to why British made clothing can appear over expensive. When people question the costs, they are rarely prepared for the realities behind them. Admittedly, I too find it challenging to calculate the full expense associated with each pair of sweatpants we sell. And, you must also remember that 20% of that retail price is earmarked for the Value Added Tax Collector!

Ultimately, the value of sustainable, locally made fashion goes beyond mere material costs. It’s about supporting ethical practices and preserving craftsmanship in a world overshadowed by fast fashion.