Tartan tat kings go Scottish

[McClef]

They are 1) Scottish Highland KIlt (just not terribly fine in quality and made somewhere other than Scotland) 2) Use some kind of woven cloth (albeit not wool and not from Scottish sheep) 3) Are designed in Scotland (I have no doubt that the design and specifications have come from the Gold Bros. which are a Scottish Company). The Singh Gold family are as Scottish, after all, as Sir Montague Burton (founder of Burtons), Michael Marks (co-founder of Marks and Spenser) were English.

All of what you say above could be argued but the impression the label seeks to create isn't how Scottish the Golds are but how Scottish their product is. The Golds aren't even the only concern to sell these kilts with this label - I have seen them in other places such as John O'Groats also so it's unlikely they are unique to them to begin with. The composition of the cloth is not given and as we have seen from other posts they are a potential fire hazard so information regarding composition could be vital. Most other clothing carries this information, wherever it's made in the global market.

If you were to apply the demand that "Scottish kilts" be labeled as to the source of their tartans, the wool and the workmanship.. (why not even the means of production as there are differences between individual kilt makers and the increasingly common assembly line methods) and apply it to nearly any other items in the shops.. things were look quite odd..

And even Scottish made clothing.. Where do you think the material likely comes from? "Made in Scotland" does not mean entirely made in Scotland. Even the finest "made in Scotland" kilt probably has imported leather straps and buckles. "Made in.." does not also say anything about "who".

I was one of those who criticised Howie's definition that a Scottish kilt had to be hand sewn. No cotton is grown in Scotland so a cotton garment saying "Made in Scotland" would of course refer only to the country of manufacture.

But it does mean that Scottish workers have been involved. It is of course impossible to always have everything 100% - heck even if the leather straps and buckles were Scottish, there is still COTTON involved in the sewing! But what percentage of a cheapie can really claim anything Scottish apart from its appearance and the fact that is is offered for sale there?

Truth? Truth of the matter.. Why get so upset with the Scottish Singh-Gold family and not with WPG in Salinas? His "army" kilts are not Scottish (and not designed in Scotland) but made in Pakistan. They are fine kilts but not very accurate reproductions and easy to spot when compared to the "real thing" (which is natural given that "real" army kilts were completely handsewn and made by some of the best shops including Wm Anderson and Thomas Gordon & Sons using very special cloth made by Robert Noble of Peebles).

And who provides jobs in Scotland?

I know nothing of WPG in terms of seeing and handling and I also do not know what is shown on the label. But I do know they are not located in the Scottish capital with many shops in the tourist areas purporting to be what they are not. It's virtually a unique situation.

As to the jobs, my experience of looking in their shops is that when you are approached by a member of staff they are more likely to be from an eastern Europe EC country who are often unable to answer questions. Heck in one shop I saw a guy trying a cheapie on and he had it the classic wrong way around with the pleats at he front - the staff had done nothing to correct him - I had to do it! Some shops had signs in advertising for staff but Scots seem reluctant to apply for the positions.