heritageofscotland.com

**RockyR** · 2nd June 06, 03:22 PM

I met them at the trade show in Glasgow and spoke to some of my Scottish suppliers about them. They do NOT have a good reputation. I can say that they had lots of Pakistani stuff at their booth and their kilts appeared to be of "pakistani quality" wool. Not the high quality stuff you're used to out of Scotland. They SAY that their kilts are made in Scotland, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Keep in mind that Scotland and the UK do not have the same standards for "made in ____" that the US does. Here, if you have a "made in the USA" tag and it's not, you can be heavily fined. To my understanding, it's not as big of a deal over there (maybe someone from the UK can clarify if they know the facts).

Their shops on the royal mile are "tourist trap" type shops. To echo someone else's comments... you get what you pay for.

**Paul Henry** · 2nd June 06, 03:52 PM

Rocky...it is true we, in the UK are not as litigious(sp) as the States, but I think you will find there be consequences for mis-attribution of country of origin!

**Big Paul** · 4th June 06, 07:55 PM

They do have some lovely Corsets!!

**Mike1** · 5th June 06, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by RockyR

Keep in mind that Scotland and the UK do not have the same standards for "made in ____" that the US does.

If you start looking at how products are marked, the words 'Designed in Scotland' end up appearing a lot. I suppose that is handy to know, but it's a touch misleading, as well.

**RockyR** · 5th June 06, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by Mike1

If you start looking at how products are marked, the words 'Designed in Scotland' end up appearing a lot. I suppose that is handy to know, but it's a touch misleading, as well.

A TOUCH misleading?!?! Technically, KILTS were "designed in Scotland".

Is it immoral to intentionally mislead people by using phrases like that?

Another question... when is something "made in" a country? If I have the material cut, sewn and built in another country but Ironed here, can I say "made in ___"?

**bubba** · 5th June 06, 07:16 AM

Rocky, as I recall they loosened up the regulations on that to the point if you had your kilts actually sewn somewhere else but sewed on the belt loops and tags here you can say it's made in the USA.

**Mike1** · 5th June 06, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by RockyR

A TOUCH misleading?!?! Technically, KILTS were "designed in Scotland".

Is it immoral to intentionally mislead people by using phrases like that?

I'm not sure about morality, but to me it is certainly unethical.

A stroll down the Royal Mile can leave you feeling depressed, if you aren't careful. So many tourists think that what is being displayed in those shops is from Scotland, when the truth of the matter is that most of it is not. All of the kilt displays are bound to lure the unsuspecting in the door, but when you start to closely examine those kilts...

Some of those kilts appeared to be made of tartan mesh, with weave so loose you could toss a £2 coin through them.

I recently spent a day in Edinburgh with a pal of mine from Lanarkshire. He's very nationalist-minded and made the comment that it is a shame all the tatty, touristy shops even exist. He then made the analogy of him visiting the States and going to Texas. He asked if I would rather see him purchasing a Stetson that was made in the U.S., or an 'authentic Stetson', made in a foreign country. When you look at it from that angle, it really starts to make a lot of sense.

Not all the shops are that way and I do realize that there are Scottish-owned shops that are still earning their crust selling foreign-produced articles, so I am not trying to kick at all the touristy shops. I'm just disappointed that there are not more Scottish-produced articles being sold there.

**macwilkin** · 5th June 06, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by Mike1

I'm not sure about morality, but to me it is certainly unethical.

A stroll down the Royal Mile can leave you feeling depressed, if you aren't careful. So many tourists think that what is being displayed in those shops is from Scotland, when the truth of the matter is that most of it is not. All of the kilt displays are bound to lure the unsuspecting in the door, but when you start to closely examine those kilts...

Some of those kilts appeared to be made of tartan mesh, with weave so loose you could toss a £2 coin through them.

I recently spent a day in Edinburgh with a pal of mine from Lanarkshire. He's very nationalist-minded and made the comment that it is a shame all the tatty, touristy shops even exist. He then made the analogy of him visiting the States and going to Texas. He asked if I would rather see him purchasing a Stetson that was made in the U.S., or an 'authentic Stetson', made in a foreign country. When you look at it from that angle, it really starts to make a lot of sense.

Not all the shops are that way and I do realize that there are Scottish-owned shops that are still earning their crust selling foreign-produced articles, so I am not trying to kick at all the touristy shops. I'm just disappointed that there are not more Scottish-produced articles being sold there.

Excellent comparison, Mike, by your mate from Lanarkshire. Makes me think of all of the "Hillbilly" gift shops here in the Ozarks with the very stereotypical images of mountain folks in overalls, shapless hats, corn-cob pipes, etc.

Cheers,

Todd

**KiltedKnight** · 5th June 06, 08:10 AM

This could get very technical and confusing if it were really given a lot of thought, for instance; if my wife and I were on a months vacation in Scotland and during that month she and I were to conceive and she came back to America pregnant, could we not claim that our child was "Made in Scotland"?.

Chris

**auld argonian** · 5th June 06, 08:15 AM

Hey...that's everywhere you go...Chicago is no exception...nor is Washington DC (3 t-shirts for $10), Toronto (I'd like a NICE Leafs jersey, please), etc. It's weird to me that this still even happens in this Global Village...there's still a market for Tourist Tat? Kultural Kitsch still exists? Okay...so I brought a bunch of plastic sushi replicas back from Tokyo but that was Kool Kitsch...I did pass of the wooden shoes in Holland, didn't I?

The guy that I know that has had some of the worst times bringing back souvenirs is the guy who tries to bring back a six pack of brews from where ever he visits...he has some 'splainin' to do. He once took two cases of Old Style on a flight to Philadelphia as carry on luggage...

Best

AA