What would you do?

[Farmer Jones]

Well said Steve.

When buying items of Highland dress, my ethos is first of all to attempt to buy a Scottish made item from a Scottish supplier. If this is not possible, then a western made item from a western supplier. If this is not possible, then an eastern made item from a western supplier. Price to me is secondary to quality and place of origin. If there are two Scottish items from two Scottish suppliers I will decide what level of quality I am prepared to pay for, and it will generally be the highest. If the two items are identical I will obviously choose the lowest priced, unless the cheaper one is a rip-off.

When I buy my next kilt (and any/all future kilts) it will be a heavyweight wool kilt hand-stitched in Scotland and made from Scottish cloth. The cloth will probably come from D.C. Dalgleish because they are the last artisan weaver.

If I need to buy a new tweed jacket it will be made in Scotland from Scottish tweed, preferably Harris tweed. Accessories will be western, if at all possible, which in practice means Scottish, British or North American.

Will these decisions cost me money? Yes, at least at the outset. I am having to save and justify the expenditure to myself for a new kilt when there are other pressures on my finances, but I will do that to support local companies making quality products. In the longer term I believe that I am actually saving money. A kilt is not a fashion item that will need thrown away in a year or so. I still have the first kilt and tweed jacket that I ever bought, and that was over twenty years ago. They are timeless and have stayed in fashion, and are in as good condition today as they were then. Do you think you could say the same of a cheap knock-off?

I would urge all X-Markers to think about their purchasing choices and the consequences these choices have.

Thank you, Steve, for doing as you have done.

My mother would love you. It seems that you were raised with exactly the same ethic I was. It is very important to understand who and what you are supporting with your expenditure. For most of us, money represents our time and efforts, so by implication how and where you spend your money, reflects what the efforts of your life will contribute to. I also prefer to support good honest artisan craft. On the subject of Tweed, my mother would only let me wear Harris Tweed that has been tailored in Scotland.