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

[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.