Need for tweed as Scots bag a weaving victory
SCOTS going to the polls on 18 September voting aye or nay for independence will have many factors to weigh, but not, perhaps, the authenticity of tweed. Yet a new legal settlement unveiled today may change all that. The Harris Tweed Authority (HTA), the statutory body tasked with protecting the authenticity of Harris Tweed, has today claimed victory against US department store chain Crate and Barrel.
The store, which has more than 170 branches across the US, was selling a selection of chairs from a so-called Harris Tweed collection. The problem was, none of the material was actually Harris Tweed, sparking a lengthy legal wrangle that only ended after Crate and Barrel promised to pay money to the authority and promised never to do it again.
“We are committed to pursuing any individual or business who attempt to undermine our historic fabric,” HTA boss Lorna Macaulay said.
The Harris Tweed Act 1993 safeguards the authenticity of the clothe made in the Outer Hebrides to prevent forgery. Scots have many issues to consider on the big indie debate: the pound, the monarchy.
But with the threat of independence looming over a raft of Scottish-related laws we wonder if Scots going to the polls have factored in the Tweed-conundrum…