Patrick Grant: Buying Less, But Better

In this episode, I have the immense pleasure of talking with Patrick Grant, a Savile Row tailor, campaigner, TV presenter, and the mind behind several sustainable clothing ventures – his influence has stretched far beyond the cutting table.

The UK was once a textile powerhouse, spinning 70% of the world’s cotton within just a 40-square-mile area. Alongside the rise of a fast fashion culture, this golden era witnessed a dramatic downturn with the loss of countless jobs and an unstable future.

Patrick’s commitment to the industry's future is evident in his rescue and revitalisation of the Blackburn clothing manufacturer, Cookson & Clegg, where he implemented a more sustainable approach and helped save the factory from closure. He then went on to launch Community Clothing, a sustainable clothing brand that prides itself on using plastic-free materials and being 100% made in the UK.

Takeaways
- How clothes can influence how you feel and think
- The decline of the UK's textile industry
- The true cost of fast fashion
- Investing in fewer, but higher quality garments can save costs and protect our planet
- The future of the fashion industry.

Chapters
(00:00) The journey to today
(01:32) The common thread of his endeavours
(05:17) The decline of UK textile manufacturing
(10:16) Why Community Clothing is different
(15:31) Marketing is making us buy more
(19:23) Why we've lost the skill of repairing clothes
(20:20) Buying less, but better
(25:47) Sustainability in the fashion Industry
(34:21) Transitioning to a Low-Volume, High-Quality Economy
(28:01) The real cost of Fast Fashion
(29:57) Building items that last
(34:25) The future of the Fashion Industry
(36:13) How clothes can influence how you feel and think
(37:59) The 1-minute takeaway

Links:
Visit Community Clothing
Visit Norton & Sons
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[PeppermintPatties]

Brilliant.
I can't wait for the world to catch up with Patrick's vision. I feel utterly sick to the stomach with our consumer society and what it does to us. X

[jangreen]

So thought provoking. I love sewing my own clothes but have come to realise I am guilty of buying too much fabric and sewing more clothes than I need. Am TRYING now to buy only what fabric I need for genuine gaps in my wardrobe, buying that which is more sustainably produced and sewing better so that clothes last

[mariGentle]

Love this. I am lucky that i sew and knit. I am not a shopper, but i made a pact with myself that from now on I will ONLY wear pieces made by me from natural fabric. This was partly triggered by a friend of a friend who buys everything all of the time and hands everybody bags of clothing. I was the unlucky recipient of bundles of MnS, polyester, garishly patterned, sewn in Bangladesh, slighty poorly fitted clothing. I will however shop at Patricks clothing co. As i hate making pants and socks 😊

[ellenmeilee]

I’m listening too ‘Less’ and I love it. I’m also really happy with the thought that whatever PG does with the proceeds from my purchase, it will be for the greater good of the world.

[simonattwood]

More sense spoken in that 40 minutes than my brain can assimilate. Brilliant. Keen to sit on a mountain with a sandwich and flask of tea sometime soon.

[francoisgarcia]

Have always opted for quality even when I was teenager. It must be in my dna cos was not the norm. Love the feel of quality material, have always knitted with 100% wool, like a butler with my clothes, you look after them, they will look after you. Would starve to buy something I really couldn’t afford to get quality. And still that way cos still not rich ha. But it pays off as over the years as long as you are clever with fashion (some fads date) you build up a collection of clothes. Beautiful fabrics enhance the person, if only people could see that. If only we could get rid of the vast majority of manmade materials.

[BenSaundersNewFrontiers]

Thank you Patrick Grant for a deeply insightful dive into the heart of the sustainable fashion and textile industries. If you enjoyed the chat, don't forget to hit the like button above 👆

[JacquelinOliverlulagrimez]

Thoroughly enjoyable podcast . I started sewing 16 years ago out of a love for fashion, but it’s interesting how it’s evolved into a changed relationship with consumerism, keeping my clothes for longer, mending them, buying much less and valuing what I sew . I hope the UK continues to grow its textiles industry .

[kenmahoney]

I visited two websites and it is disappointing to find grammatical/ spelling errors on both. I guess I expect no errors when there's so much evidence of excellence in play. It undermines the experience, especially when the path leads to what appear to be top quality products and high prices... even if they are good value. I want the experience to be faultless, especially if, in the case of Norton and Sons, I'm to pay thousands for a bespoke suit and hundreds for a shirt. I don't expect or want a dropped stitch, or to trip up in reading the content on the website.

[TochiDimodetis]

When a replica is better quality than the original that costs Low why not HIDUPZ