Community Clothing
TypeSocial enterprise
IndustrySustainable fashion
Founded2016
FounderPatrick Grant
Headquarters
Blackburn, Lancashire
,
United Kingdom
ProductsClothing
Websitecommunityclothing.co.uk

Community Clothing is a British clothing brand and social enterprise founded in 2016 by Scottish fashion designer Patrick Grant.[1] The company is based in Blackburn, Lancashire, and produces a line of clothing staples using ethically sourced materials, in order to provide consistent employment for a co-operative of British mills and factories and reduce clothing waste.[2]

History

Clothing and textile factories in the United Kingdom, which boomed during the Industrial Revolution, began declining in the mid 20th-century due to cheaper overseas production, the rise of fast fashion, and lack of investment in the industry. The number of people employed in clothing manufacturing in Britain declined from 1.4 million in the 1970s to only 50,000 in the 2020s.[3] Additionally, the fashion industry, whose seasonal business model typically keeps factories busy only twice a year, left significant gaps of downtime for mills.[2]

In 2015, Patrick Grant purchased Blackburn factory Cookson & Clegg, which was facing closure after losing their contract with the British military in 2009. Grant purchased the company, which was founded in 1860 and had been a long-time supplier to his Savile Row tailoring house Norton & Sons. However, he was unable to keep the factory afloat after losing a contract with a major retailer,[4] and Cookson & Clegg went into voluntary liquidation in March 2016.[5]

Grant's solution to revive Cookson & Clegg and other struggling clothing factories was to create a line of clothing basics manufactured year-round at a co-operative of factories.[6][7] Grant raised more than £88,0000 in a Kickstarter campaign in early 2016 to launch the enterprise, with the first orders made at Cookson & Clegg.[8]

The company began sales in partnership with eBay in September 2016, and opened a physical store in Blackburn in October 2016. The store closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] The company launched their own e-commerce site in 2018.[11]

In 2018, Grant delivered a TED Talk about the fashion industry and Community Clothing.[2]

Community Clothing menswear began selling at retailer John Lewis in Spring 2021.[12]

In 2022, the company supplied the opening ceremony uniforms for the English team during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, as part of Team England's commitment to ethical production and sustainability.[13] The uniforms, consisting of a red blazer, white T-shirt and khakhi chinos, were manufactured within 100 miles of Birmingham. The outfit was designed to be reworn after the Games; the blazer featured a removable velcro Team England badge buttons along with other badges to allow the athletes to customise their kits.[14]

Business model

Community Clothing operates as a social enterprise to address the poverty caused by the decline in the British clothing industry and to fill the gap at clothing factories caused by the seasonality of the fashion industry.[8][9] The company's goal is to provide skilled employment to allow factories to stay in business and expand, and encourage a more sustainable model for consuming clothes.[7][15] The clothes are manufactured in more than 30 factories in the UK, including in six of the most economically deprived areas of the country.[16]

Community Clothing's business model is to sell high-quality wardrobe basics with minimal overhead costs and a shorter supply chain to increase affordability for consumers. The styles are not continually redesigned, leading to less expense and less waste of unused stock, with the goal to promote sustainability via long-term wear.[16] Community Clothing also uses "deadstock" materials — unsold fabric that otherwise would have gone to waste.[17] The company's website states where they source their raw materials, yarn, cloth, and finished product.[18]

The company sells directly to consumers online and mainly markets using social media,[15] and uses members of the local community as models, with their own hair and makeup.[19] The company states their markup is 30 per cent of that of comparable brands and their marketing expenditures do not exceed 5 per cent of their budget.[16]

Community Clothing also holds pop-up shops, including at Selfridges department stores.[20]

Community Clothing does not put their clothes on sale or participate in Black Friday or other discount promotions.[16]

Logo and branding

The company's logo is based on the CC41 logo introduced in 1941 by the British Board of Trade. The CC41 logo was stamped on products to indicate affordability during a time of austerity.[1]

The company's motto is Making Clothes, Creating Jobs, Restoring Pride.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 Theodosi, Natalie (17 February 2016). "Patrick Grant Launches Nonprofit Label, Community Clothing". WWD. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Dool, Steve (27 April 2018). "The Designer Staging His Own Industrial Revolution". GQ. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  3. ↑ Grant, Patrick (17 January 2022). "A Letter from Patrick Grant, Founder of Community Clothing". Community Clothing. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Chhabra, Esha (27 June 2018). "How This Young Fashion Startup Is Transforming British Manufacturing". Forbes. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  5. ↑ Roberts, Hywel (23 May 2016). "Patrick Grant confirms closure of supplier Cookson & Clegg". Drapers. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  6. ↑ Winkleman, Claudia (3 June 2018). "Claudia Winkleman on Community Clothing and finding the perfect white T-shirt". The Times. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 Conlon, Scarlett (28 September 2019). "British manufacturing: back in fashion". The Observer. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 Godwin, Richard (7 March 2016). "Patrick Grant talks classic clothes, capitalism & Kickstarter campaigns". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 Hounslea, Tara (7 November 2016). "Community Clothing to expand through stores and online". Drapers. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  10. ↑ van der Post, Lucia (30 July 2020). "Meet Community Clothing, the Brand Reviving British-Made Fashion". Country and Town House. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Marfil, Lorelei (29 March 2018). "Patrick Grant Creates E-commerce Site for Community Clothing Brand". WWD. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  12. ↑ Wightman-Stone, Danielle (1 April 2021). "John Lewis launches Community Clothing line". FashionUnited. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "Team England Opening Ceremony wear to be produced by Community Clothing". Commonwealth Games England. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "We're Going to the Games". Community Clothing. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  15. 1 2 Howarth, Peter (22 December 2022). "Patrick Grant is on a mission". The Times. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "About Community Clothing". Community Clothing. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  17. ↑ Grant, Patrick (30 August 2022). "Waste Not, Want Not". Community Clothing. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  18. ↑ James, Dr Alana. "Why you should stop buying new clothes". phys.org. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "In the Factory: Community Clothing X Liberty | Liberty". Liberty London. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  20. ↑ Santamaria, Barbara (19 January 2017). "Selfridges celebrates sustainability in fashion in new Material World project". FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "Community Clothing". Twitter.
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