Business · Economy · 1 day ago
Hiut Denim brings jeans-making jobs and skills back to Cardigan
Hiut Denim makes jeans in Cardigan, a small coastal town in west Wales.
The company was founded there in 2011 by David and Clare Hieatt to bring denim-making skills back and train new craftspeople.
Cardigan once had Britain’s largest jeans factory, which employed about 400 people before production moved to Morocco.
Hiut now employs 20 people and makes about 120 pairs a week, far fewer than the old factory’s 35,000 pairs.
Each pair is made by hand, and the company offers lifetime repairs.
Elin Evans, who has worked in the trade since 1983, manages the factory after returning to Cardigan to work for Hiut.
The company’s work is helping preserve local skills and bring jeans-making jobs back to the town, though on a much smaller scale than before.
Hiut Denim was founded in Cardigan, west Wales, in 2011 by David and Clare Hieatt to revive local denim-making skills.
Cardigan once had Britain’s largest jeans factory, where the Dewhirst plant employed about 400 people and produced 35,000 pairs of jeans a week.
When production moved abroad at the start of the century, hundreds of local people lost their jobs; former Dewhirst worker Elin Evans later returned to the trade at Hiut.
Hiut employs 20 people and makes about 120 pairs of jeans a week, far fewer than the town’s former mass-production levels.
The company says its jeans are made by hand from 17 fabric pieces and offers lifetime repairs.
Prices start at £245 and rise to £350, making the jeans about 10 times more expensive than a high-street pair.
- Who
- Hiut Denim, founded by David and Clare Hieatt; factory manager Elin Evans
- What
- A company making premium jeans while reviving denim-making skills in Cardigan
- When
- Founded in 2011
- Where
- Cardigan, west Wales
- Why
- To revive denim-making skills in the town and train a new generation of craftspeople
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
I’ve done a full loop, because this is where I started
I hoped it was like riding a bike
We’re very proud of what we’re doing and the quality is top notch.
Elin Evans began working in the jeans trade at age 16.
Jeans manufacturing in Wales moved abroad, costing hundreds of local people their jobs.
David and Clare Hieatt founded Hiut Denim in Cardigan.
The Duchess of Sussex wore Hiut jeans during her first official visit to Wales, giving the brand a boost.
- Cardigan population
- 4,200
- Hiut staff
- 20 people
- Hiut weekly production
- About 120 pairs of jeans
- Dewhirst factory workforce and output
- About 400 employees and 35,000 pairs per week
- Hiut price range
- £245 to £350
- Jeans construction
- 17 pieces of fabric per pair
Sources
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