The new brand is set to be called ’Made by Great Britons’ and has been inspired by the Jubilee and Olympics which took place in the UK during the summer. The brand will feature a Union flag to emphasise where the brand has been made.
Debenhams group trading director Suzanne Harlow said: “The fantastic support for the Jubilee and the Olympics this year shows how passionate we all are about championing the best of British. We have some of the best clothing manufacturers in the world, and we want to see their products in our stores. If you’ve got innovative, exciting garments and an excellent standard of factory, then we want to hear from you.
“It makes sense for us to use manufacturers nearer to home whenever we can rather than shipping in products from the other side of the world.”
Business secretary Vince Cable added: “There is a growing momentum behind bringing back substantial parts of the textile industry to the UK. It was an industry that almost died in Britain.
“I am now picking up that the economics of the industry are changing, and very much welcome the initiatives of the big retailers to start sourcing in the UK where possible.”
This stands in contrast to the views of Ratan Tata, head of Tata Sons, who said this week that we had concerns about the manufacturing base and strength of supply chains in the UK.
He told The Daily Telegraph that: “The economic situation, the high cost of undertaking manufacturing, the supply chain – which is dying out as manufacturing undergoes hardship – make the UK not the first place you would look at to make a manufacturing investment.”
