Protect our Scottish Tartan Kilt
Go back over the centuries and you will find people in Scotland were wearing kilts even if it would have differed in style from the common modern kilt. Such is the close connection between the kilt and the Scottish people that Scots were banned by the foreign English government from wearing the kilt after a rebellion. However despite this close connection with Scotland anyone anywhere in the world can manufacture a skirt that looks like our Scottish Kilt and describe it as “a Scottish Kilt”.
However if you make a bottle of champagne using he traditional champagne style but make it outside of a very small area of France and the law will clamp down on you immediately. The same legislation protects the Parmesan area of Italy preventing you form producing any foodstuff and describing it as Parmesan unless you are in the immediate area of Parmesan.
The Scottish Kilt could well be granted the same protection in law in the relatively near future. If this move in the European Parliament succeeds only kilts that were hand sewn, made in Scotland and made from pure wool could be known as a Scottish kilt.
Low priced and poor quality kilts have in recent years been exported from mainly India and China which are being advertised as Scottish Kilts even if they have seen the light of day in Scotland. At a time when Scotland is experiencing it largest ever tourist boom people are buying these imported “Scottish Kilts” and seeing them come apart after only being worn maybe once or twice are assuming that these “Scottish products” are inferior quality so damaging our national reputation.
A professional kilt maker in Scotland will use around 8 metres of a heavy pure wool when making a average size kilt. His length is necessary to give the Scottish Kilt the weight to hang properly when worn by a man. By comparison a lightweight imported kilt will often use a thinner material and only around five or six yards of tartan type of cloth so it cannot be worn with style and looks wrong when worn. Consequently purchasers of these imports are put off buying any quality kilt as they believe the kilt does not suit them.
Once this legislation is in force it is proposed that kilts which do not meet all three quality standards cannot be branded as “Scottish Kilts” but may still be sold simply as kilts.
Similar rules already exist for whisky for example which needs to be distilled and then stored in oak barrels for at least three years before it can be called Scotch Whisky. In the same way feta cheese can only be so called if it was made in Greece, and Edam cheese whose name can only be applied if it was made in The Netherlands.
Yes I put up my hands and admit that the correct plural form of kilt is kilt not kilts but we wrote for people who were perhaps unaware of this Scottish tradition and felt this would be less confusing.
Are you interested in learning how you can follow the exact same method used by Scottish Clan chiefs who were to become a Laird or Lady in future articles.