Nominee Summary
Launched in 2022, the Highland Clip is a joint venture between South Clunes Farm and Scottish luxury brand ANTA; created to champion Scottish craft and support the crofters and small-scale farms of the Highlands. It is a unique collaboration which adds value to Highland wool (used in ANTA’s flatweave carpets and tweed), creates a fully traceable product and offers a significantly higher price to local farmers and crofters for their wool. Now in it’s third year, the Highland Clip bought 18 MT of wool in 2024 from 12 farmers and crofters.
What makes your nominee stand out?
We have a great tradition of wool in Scotland and yet the Scottish wool industry has experienced a significant decline for reasons including the rise of synthetic fibres, changing consumer preferences, and the impact of the pandemic on key markets like hospitality. This has resulted in drastically reduced prices for wool, making it unprofitable for many farmers and crofters. This is particularly true in the Highlands of Scotland, where there has been little or no value in wool for some time and shearing is more about welfare. But to ANTA, its strength and durability make it perfect for their flatweave carpets and tweed. The Highland Clip is a collaborative project to produce a premium product from Highland wool with the uniting common purposes of sustainability, traceability and fair trade. Wool is bought from Highland crofters and farmers and it is spun and dyed in Yorkshire before being woven and finished in Galashiels. The final stage is in ANTA’s factory in the Highlands where the finished products are made, including Highland carpets, tweeds and throws. This unique collaboration between farmers, manufacturers and customers not only adds value to wool, through the creation of a fully traceable product – it also means that local farmers and crofters are offered a significantly higher price. Through the Highland Clip, we’re restoring wool’s place as a prized Highland commodity and inspiring more community-led initiatives across Scotland.
Supporting the local community
From 3MT of wool from South Clunes Farm in Year 1, the volume has doubled year on year to 18MT in Year 3 and an increased volume expected in 2025; the Highland Clip now buys wool from different producers across the Highlands - crofters, tenant farmers and farms of varying sizes. Producers benefit from a significantly higher price for their wool, compared to the price from the wool board. The KG price from the Highland Clip not only covers shearing costs but also contributes to other producer costs. This is a unique project with a focus firmly on families and businesses in the Highlands teaming up – collaborating and supporting each other in a very rural part of the country. From ANTA’s point of view, it sends a clear message that ‘ANTA supports Scottish farms’, benefitting the farmer but also their customers. In terms of future ambitions for the Highland Clip, as demand grows for ANTA’s carpets, tweed and throws, the ambition is to buy more wool from more Highland crofters and farmers and also to start looking for different routes to market. Fred Swift of South Clunes and Stella Stewart from ANTA promoted the Highland Clip at GO Falkland in 2024 and also the Black Isle Show. They have also appeared on the Farm Advisory Service podcast. The hope is that this will inspire more community-led initiatives across Scotland. https://www.fas.scot/podcast/agri-culture-fred-swift-stella-stewart-from-sheep-to-shop-increasing-the-value-of-wool/
Maintaining high ethical/environmental standards
ANTA produces textiles for a range of home furnishings produced from pure wool. The types of textiles they produce lend themselves to Highland hill sheep – coarse ewes’ wool for carpets, rugs and upholstery; hoggs wool for throws, cushions and accessories. With a loyal customer base in Scotland, and specifically in the Highlands, this traceability back to individual farms is a unique selling point for ANTA. Consumers are thinking more about environmental impact and wool is a 100% natural product. A fully renewable and biodegradable resource, it offers fire-resistant, insulating, and soundproof qualities, perfect for home interiors. Soft furnishings also have more impact on the customer’s home environment – where they sleep; what they’re inhaling… Natural wool fibres are better for health. Pure wool ticks all the sustainability boxes; the products may be more expensive, but they have a significantly longer life. ANTA has been in business for 40 years and some of their original carpets are only being replaced now. From field to factory, it’s a fully traceable cycle that ensures farmers receive a fair price for their fleece and gives us complete transparency over the wool’s origins. https://www.anta.co.uk/pages/textile-journey?srsltid=AfmBOor2UYY1Egv01bQiYhQJSLSyVXSL70W9TlxSPy6Qwe9Ov05C00Hz
