40 Mile Fleece To Fabric Cloth Showcases Yorkshire Textile Industry’s Capabilities

Designer Susan Gaunt has highlighted the capabilities of the Yorkshire textile industry with her latest project - a 40 mile fleece eco cloth.

It uses only British wool produced to the highest environmental standards and utilises the skills of local companies to ensure the entire process from fleece to fabric is completed within a 40-mile radius.

Harrogate-based Susan, who has an MPhil in Textiles from the University of Huddersfield, developed the fabric, with Laxtons of Guiseley and Huddersfield textile finishers W.T. Johnson and Sons also involved in the project.

This great advert for the local textile industry has attracted some media coverage and featured in BBC One’s Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in early September.

Susan originally came up with the 40-mile fleece to fabric idea a few years ago, as she wanted to demonstrate that British wool - a resource that has minimal environmental impact - could be used to create a soft luxurious cloth.

Her development work on the new cloth proved to be a success and it impressed Jaeger, which first used it in its Autumn Winter 2012 collection.

Click here to find out more about Susan’s innovative work.