Make it British Podcast

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125 – Calling out Boohoo for using unethical garment factories – Dominique Muller, Labour Behind the Label Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

Labour Behind the Label is a workers rights organisation that fights for living wages for garment workers. They have produced a report about the unethical working practices of factories in Leicester making for Boohoo. The industry has often called into question how Boohoo can sell dresses for £4 and still make them ethically in the UK, and this report by Labour Behind the Label makes for distressing reading. Talking of staff made to work in factories making Boohoo clothes whilst suffering with Covid 19. Dominique Muller is the policy director at Labour Behind the Label, and on this episode she talks about what needs to be done to ensure workers in Leicester are treated fairly and paid a living wage.

Labour Behind the Label

About Labour behind the Label

Boohoo & Covid 19 - The people behind the profits

Tell Boohoo to #gotransparent - sign the petition

Clean Clothes Campaign - improving working conditions in the global garment industry

Fashion Checker - find out if the brands you buy from are paying their factory workers a living wage

Why we need transparent supply chains

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Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

124 – To Wholesale, or Not to Wholesale Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Whether to wholesale is one of the biggest decisions that brands have to make, and it is often much more of a difficult decision for businesses that make in the UK as their cost price is often higher. Wholesale was the route that traditionally most brands went down if they wanted to build their profile quickly. But as retailer mark-ups have been increasing over the years, and more direct-to-consumer selling channels have been opening up, wholesaling is not the only way of increasing a brands reach and selling more products. In this episode I run through the pros and cons of wholesaling a British-made brand, as well as some of the alternatives for reaching new customers.

Purchase our cost price calculator to see what wholesaling does for your margin.

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

123 – A pivotal time for UK retail Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

It’s back to business this week for many retailers - but how will shopping change post-lockdown? And what effect will this have on businesses that manufacture locally?

Whilst some people are rushing out hoping to secure a bargain on the seasonal stock that retailers are trying to shift before the summer ends, many others will be slightly more reticent about heading out to busy high streets and shopping centres.

Lockdown has created a sense of community and of supporting local businesses. This presents a great opportunity for small businesses and favours those that manufacture locally as consumers turn their back on imported goods.

I think we’ll start to see high streets change and become much more focused around community and independent shops. It’s an interesting time.

If you're a UK-made business you're in a great position right now as we go through this time of extraordinary change.

In this episode I offer advice for how locally made businesses can make the most of this big change in consumer buying behaviour.

Holly Tucker's Open Letter to British Shoppers

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

122 – The Importance of Quality – Maria Grachvogel Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

London-based designer Maria Grachvogel is renowned for her clever use of cutting to flatter the female figure. In this interview Maria talks about why she has chosen to use more UK manufacturers for her collection, and how changing her business model has helped her to build closer relationships with her clients.

She also discusses the importance of quality, and how buying less, of better quality would solve many of the sustainability issues with clothing and fashion.

More Maria Grachvogel

Maria Grachvogel on Instagram

Stay in Touch

British Brand Accelerator - Find out how you can work with me to build your British-made brand

Make it British website

Join Make it British - become a member of our community and promote your business in our directory or UK-made brands and manufacturers

Make it British on Instagram

Make it British on YouTube - subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch many of the podcast episodes as videos.

Mentioned in this episode:

British Brand Accelerator

121 – An update on PPE Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

We've had two pieces of good news this week so I thought I'd share them with you in this episode.

The first is that the government has now officially placed orders with UK manufacturers for millions of pieces of PPE.

And the second is that the Fashion Roundtable's campaign to get garment and textile roles onto the Shortage Occupation List has progressed to the next stage.

Further listening

Ep 114 - PPE - Can we make it in the UK?

Ep 116 - Where are we on PPE?

Ep 104 - How can we solve the skills issue post-Brexit with Tamara Cincik, Fashion Roundtable

Ep 002 - Interview with James Eden, Private White VC