Opinion column from the Scotsman: "Kilt police should stop pleating about shops"

[Dreadbelly]

It is because of people like Rocky that people like me start wearing kilts... First time experience.

[Splash_4]

Same here. My first kilt was an inexpensive kilt aimed at the entry market. This was just to see if the kilt was for me. I have since ordered two kilts in 16oz wool from the tartan museum. As a consumer, I want to know where a product is manufactured. When my wife and I were in Scotland two years ago, we spent a fair amount of tourist dollars on the royal mile. It wasn't till we got home that we found about half of our purchases were made in Asia. This was disappointing to us as these were meant as Christmas gifts for others.

This whole thing reminds me of the movie "A Few Good Men"

Lt. Kaffee - "I want the truth!"
Col. Jessep - "You can't handle the truth!"

[Mike1]

I, for one, think this Scotsman article is ridiculous. For one thing, it completely misses the main point that was made in the article from the Scottish Tartans Authority.

Well, it's certainly not the first time The Scotsman has missed a point. They do have a certain "political slant" (for want of a more PC term) that doesn't necessarily match the name of the publication. Forum rules prevent referring to that publication by the name it's commonly known by in Scotland.

[Monkey@Arms]

From The Scotsman

Wed 14 Feb 2007

MSPs' sporran legion attacks cut-price kilts

MSPs have called for measures to protect Scottish kilts after traders in the Capital warned cheap imitations were ruining their businesses.

They were speaking at a "Question Time" style panel last night, when local members of the Federation of Small Businesses quizzed a cross-party panel of politicians. The call follows an accusation by the Tartan Authority that some Royal Mile shopkeepers were misleading tourists by selling cut-price acrylic kilts for as little as £19.99.

Pentlands MSP David McLetchie said: "There has to be fair competition. Goods are being sold on a fraudulent basis."

City councillor Donald Anderson, who will be standing for Holyrood in May, said Scottish whisky producers had successfully fought to safeguard their product. He added: "We need the same quality with regard to the Highland-wear industry."

Graeme Muir, who runs the Tartan Gift Shop on the Royal Mile, has claimed cut-price acrylic kilts are ruining his business.

But other traders said the cheap kilts were only filling a gap in the market.

http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=241142007

Best regards,

Jake

[Chef]

There is a couple of things to look at here. First on the kilts, there is definitely a market for the cheap kilts but they definitley should not be sold as the genuine article. The Tartan Authority should create a trademarked moniker that identifies the genuine article and then properly advertise it so locals a tourist alike know what to look for. The parliment should also create a labeling law to protect Scottish goods by requiring origin etc to be properly labeled and then enforce that law. Who knows they may already have one and it just isn't enforced.

Ok, but second (and back to to what I got out of the story) The Royal Mile is a dreadful mess. Certainly there are still the traditional shops selling genuine goods but most of the stores are selling tourist trash of low quality.(I am not refering to kilts at all) Unfortunately most of the traditional shops have had to bring in some of this garbage to compete. It used to be wonderful to walk along High Street and it was also a fine place to find genuine Scottish articles for yourself or for gifts but it has turned into a tourist trap. It has gotten very difficult to even see the history of the Royal Mile through all the tartan garbage for sale.

Granted I grew up in Edinburgh and like most people I liked my town the way it was, but even if you push that aside it has still gone too far.

[McClef]

There is a couple of things to look at here. First on the kilts, there is definitely a market for the cheap kilts but they definitley should not be sold as the genuine article. The Tartan Authority should create a trademarked moniker that identifies the genuine article and then properly advertise it so locals a tourist alike know what to look for. The parliment should also create a labeling law to protect Scottish goods by requiring origin etc to be properly labeled and then enforce that law. Who knows they may already have one and it just isn't enforced.

Ok, but second (and back to to what I got out of the story) The Royal Mile is a dreadful mess. Certainly there are still the traditional shops selling genuine goods but most of the stores are selling tourist trash of low quality.(I am not refering to kilts at all) Unfortunately most of the traditional shops have had to bring in some of this garbage to compete. It used to be wonderful to walk along High Street and it was also a fine place to find genuine Scottish articles for yourself or for gifts but it has turned into a tourist trap. It has gotten very difficult to even see the history of the Royal Mile through all the tartan garbage for sale.

Granted I grew up in Edinburgh and like most people I liked my town the way it was, but even if you push that aside it has still gone too far.

I think the trademarked monicker (logo) idea is a good one especially reinforced with a labelling law - this has not yet been enacted though I gather from discussions I had with retailers that the STA is interested in this. Those selling genuine Scottish articles already make sure that the labels say so VERY clearly. Even the tat shops sell some genuine articles which could possibly add to the confusion about the rest.

But it's not just the Royal Mile, there are also shops on Princes St and some of the streets that run off it. There are some articles that you can find in just about every shop (genuine kilts or no) and the prices are remarkably exactly the same!

But not ONE of them sold an "Up Yer Kilt" badge! (Only stickers, patches or fridge magnets).

I can't even see what economic benefits that an overkill of shops brings even the biggest "culprit" in that respect. Surely there should be a limit on their numbers but nobody has a high opinion of the City Council's interest in or ability to do so.

Some gems of genuine shops aren't actually on the Mile but rather in closes and wynds off it which could possibly put them at a disadvantage to begin with.