Cotton spinning has returned to the UK!
Greater Manchester was once known as cottonopolis because it was the home to the world’s cotton yarn and fabric production during the industrial revolution.
At the turn of the Twentieth Century there were 9,000 people employed in the cotton industry in Ashton-under-Lyne, operating 2 million spindles.
But after years of decline the last commercial cotton spinning mill in the UK closed.
Three years ago a company called Culimeta-Saveguard, who had been spinning technical fibres in Dunkenfield on the outskirts of Manchester decided to bring cotton spinning back to the UK.
English Fine Cottons now supplies well known designer brands and high street retailers with cotton yarn that is used in bedding, shirts and outerwear.
I took a tour round the mill and chatted with Andy Ogden, General Manager of English Fine Cottons.
In this interview you’ll hear all about how English Fine Cottons came about, and how they are closing one of the broken loops in the UK’s fragmented textile supply chain.
Show notes for this podcast – makeitbritish.co.uk/033
More about English Fine Cottons
My visit to Tower Mill when it was still a building site in 2016
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