The IOS is a "private tartan" when you order it through MM and is therefore charged "a surcharge per meter". MM SHOULD (can't say for sure as I'm not the person who invented it) be paying a fee (% of each sale) to the creator of the tartan... that's why the charge the customer a surcharge, so that they pass that on to the creator.

Here's the problem... when you use mills that are outside the UK and don't follow the guidelines of the Scottish Tartans Authority, they may reproduce tartans WITHOUT paying royalties to the tartan's creator. Keep in mind that the STA isn't a government body with laws... think of them as the UN... they have the ability to make "suggestions", but no real power to enforce them.

Case in point... a few years ago, there were about 5 or 6 companies offering "Irish National Tartan" kilts in Acrylic and wool that was made in Pakistan. House of Edgar (who OWN the Irish National Tartan) caught wind of this and tried to stop those mills (in Pakistan) from producing the material. Since the mills didn't care about UK patent law or about the STA's rules, they continued to produce it (until HOE started going after the retailers here in the states and SWK struck up a deal to be the only Irish National "non - wool" dealer in the US).

Mills outside the UK can / do produce material without paying proper duty to the creator. They MAY pay the proper person the duty to have the "right" to weave the material, but this doesn't happen often. Please note that I'm not accusing any particular company of anything... just pointing out a loophole in the "system" as it stands today.