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. After a rebellion against the English Government then ruling our country the English Parliament outlawed Scots from wearing national costume including tartan and the kilt. Yet anyone in any country can manufacture something that looks like a Scottish Kilt and sell it labeled as a Scottish Kilt.
Yet you try that with a bottle of sparkling wine and call it champagne and unless it was made using the traditional method anywhere outside a relatively small area of France and you will have the whole European legal system come down on you like a ton of bricks. The same rules apply to a number of other products such as Parmesan which has by law to be made only in the Parmesan area of Italy.
Well soon that same copyright brand protection may be available to our Scottish kilt. An application has been made to the European parliament to have the Scottish Kilt granted this same designated area protection. This would mean only kilts that have been sewn by hand in Scotland and made from pure wool could be described as Scottish Kilts.
Over the last few years we have seen huge increases in the number of kilts coming into the country from the far east which are then being described as Scottish Kilts. The low quality is damaging our national trade and reputation as they can easily fall apart after being worn only few times. They are also very light-weight so do not have the famous swing for which the Scottish Kilt is famous.
By tradition a quality Scottish Kilt will need around eight yards almost 8 meters of heavy pure wool to give it the strength weight and style to help it hang properly. 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.
Kilts irrespective of origin do not meet all three of the standards may still be sold as kilts but will denied the right to be called “Scottish Kilts”.
The same rules currently apply to Scotch Whisky which needs to be distilled in Scotland and then kept in oak barrels stored in Scotland for a minimum of three years. 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.
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