Another protectionist kilt article from "The Scotsman"

[wildrover]

Mr. Hawthorne is angry, and IMHO opinion rightfully so, that cheap junk can be passed off as Scottish to unsuspecting tourists and ill-informed natives.

All you need is a country of origin label.

At any rate, if it said "Made in Scotland", I would assume that the fabric might have been woven in Scotland, maybe, and that the thread, leather, buckles, etc. were from Eastern Durkistan, and that everything had been pre-pleated, pre-assembled, and pre-packaged in a small sweatshop in Krblkistan before being sent to Scotland to have a "Made In Scotland" tag attached, the act of which would likely satisfy some legal requirement to have final assembly done in-country to be legally entitled to said label.

...Because that is how the world works, these days. Make an end run around the legal issues, find the cheapest source of production and labor, and sell it on the shelf most people can't quite reach, so everyone else will think it's classy and want one to show off.

He can say whatever he wants, I will have other kilts in the future, and I will get them wherever I see fit, and they will be of the best quality I can afford, and they will not have three stinking buckles because that third buckle would be sitting at the bottom of a creek by now if my kilt were so equipped. Finally, if there's eventually some international legal pronouncement from Brussels, I will suggest that they can go make me some waffles, and I will get a whitelabel from the underground kiltmakers' syndicate!

Formal occasions only, my kilted ***.

[tripleblessed]

re Rocky's comment about Steve's handling of the forum, I find it impressive
that in this day of overhype and spam marketing, Steve does not attempt to
"outsize" other ads or bombard us with sales pitches. Many would attempt
to use the forum as a bully pulpit, and that would destroy the genteel nature that draws people here.

[RockyR]

re Rocky's comment about Steve's handling of the forum, I find it impressive
that in this day of overhype and spam marketing, Steve does not attempt to
"outsize" other ads or bombard us with sales pitches. Many would attempt
to use the forum as a bully pulpit, and that would destroy the genteel nature that draws people here.

I completely agree. I don't think Steve, as an advertiser / kiltmaker AND the forum owner, gets enough credit for his restraint.

I also don't know if the general forum member knows how much he DOES protect the 'uneducated newbie' by only allowing reputable advertisers up here and by keeping the "trolling for business" to a minimum. He also fosters an environment where "traditional" kiltmakers and "contemorary" kiltmakers (and loads of categories in between) can all post up here and respect each other's opinions.

Back to the topic at hand...

[muirkirkca]

There have been a lot of interesting points made. Mr. Hawthorne has a point and should engage the appropriate professional group to come up with the best and most suitable Scottish branding and labeling for the kilt and associated accessories crafted in Scotland.

I wouldn't want to limit the product as being 8 yds. etc. etc.just to give some flexibility in marketing to the broader world.