Community Clothing looking to bring underwear manufacturing back to Wales

Patrick Grant’s clothing brand and social enterprise, Community Clothing, is looking to reignite Welsh underwear manufacturing with a new inclusive range of affordable, high-quality underwear for men and women made in Wales.

Community Clothing, known for championing British manufacturing through its partnership with 42 factories across the UK, is looking to restart underwear manufacturing in Wales and is asking for customers to pre-order its new underwear collection to kickstart regular production in the country.

Commenting on the campaign, Grant said in a statement: “Everything we do at Community Clothing is about making great clothes and preserving and creating skilled jobs. There is a strong heritage of manufacturing the finest underwear in the South Wales Valleys, we want to see that tradition continue.

"Supporting our campaign means supporting the growth of good jobs in a corner of the UK that really needs them.”

Wales’ history in underwear manufacturing might not be well known, but until very recently, many global brands made exceptional quality underwear in South Wales, including Gossard, which made the famous Wonderbra in Pontllanfraith. But through the 1990s and early 2000s, all of the major factories in the region closed as businesses relocated production to the Far East, and the work that bound these communities disappeared. Today, just piecemeal production of small runs and samples remains.

Community Clothing to reignite Welsh underwear manufacturing with new collection

Community Clothing is looking to secure pre-orders for 10,000 pieces of underwear through its ‘Welsh Pants’ campaign via its website. If the target is reached, Community Clothing will use that to kickstart regular production in the hope it will lead to as many as 50 skilled staff being brought back to the sewing room in the short term.

The everyday underwear collection for men and women has been developed using 100 percent organic and single-farm cotton fabric, also knitted in the UK in Leicestershire, an area famous for centuries for its fine knitting. Created using a supersoft lightweight single jersey for women, a soft and durable midweight interlock fabric for men and high-quality elastics and fastenings, every piece is hand cut and sewn by seamstresses at the factory in New Tredegar in South Wales.

The collection for women consists of a cami, two unstructured bra styles and three knicker shapes, including a high rise, classic brief and thong in black, white, grey marl, sage and pink. The men’s range features three pant styles, a boxer, Y-front and brief, available in black, white, grey marl, navy and denim blue.

To ensure the collection is inclusive, the underwear will be available in UK sizes 6-20 for women and XS to 4XL for men and will be priced from 8 to 15 pounds. Customers who support the campaign and pre-order from the underwear collection will also receive a 10-15 percent discount on the retail price. Delivery of the line is expected 4 to 8 weeks after production begins.

To bring the campaign to life, Community Clothing teamed up with a host of Welsh talent, including singer and actor Wynne Evans and comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean, who were shot in their pants by British portrait photographer Chris Floyd.