A prominent industry body is stepping up its campaign to bring the manufacturing of NHS and military uniforms back to British soil, delivering a letter to Downing Street this week signed by more than 1,200 public figures. The Fashion Roundtable, a thinktank focused on the intersection of fashion and policy, is calling on Labour leader Andy Burnham to commit to awarding domestic procurement contracts for textile goods — a move it argues could safeguard thousands of jobs and shore up the UK’s manufacturing base.
Among the signatories are adventurer Ben Fogle, Great British Sewing Bee presenter Patrick Grant, and numerous figures from across the fashion and manufacturing sectors. Their central argument is straightforward: public procurement represents one of the most powerful tools available to preserve onshore production and sustain regional economies.
The Push for Onshore Manufacturing
At the heart of the campaign is a striking statistic. According to estimates from a Fashion Roundtable economist, approximately £120 million is spent each year by the NHS and the Ministry of Defence on uniforms, yet around 55% of those garments are currently produced overseas. The thinktange argues that redirecting even a portion of that spending toward British manufacturers could have an outsized impact on the domestic economy.
“The biggest lever we have to support skills retention, inclusive growth and regional resilience is awarding public procurement contracts for textile goods to suppliers who manufacture onshore in the UK,” the organisation stated in its letter.
The appeal carries particular weight given the broader decline of British manufacturing. For years, textile production has been eroded by competition from lower-cost overseas suppliers, leaving many UK-based factories with an uncertain future. Proponents of the campaign believe that consistent government contracts could provide the stability these businesses desperately need.
Economic Evidence Behind the Campaign
Supporters point to concrete examples that demonstrate the tangible benefits of domestic manufacturing. During the pandemic, the Covid inquiry concluded that nearly £10 billion of public money was wasted through a flawed approach to purchasing personal protective equipment, much of it manufactured in China. The procurement process was widely criticised for its lack of oversight and reliance on overseas suppliers at a time of acute global shortage.
By contrast, Scotland took a markedly different path. The nation invested £102.7 million in PPE and produced 88% of it domestically in 2021, generating £66.7 million of additional economic value and creating 1,400 jobs. The comparison offers a compelling case study for those advocating a similar approach to uniform production.
Kate Hills, founder of the manufacturing organisation Make It British, argued that even modest contract awards could transform the outlook for embattled firms. “These sort of contracts would give manufacturers confidence to employ more people, to look at the long term rather than feel like they’re surviving day to day,” she said.
Patrick Grant, who invested in Blackburn-based military outfitters Cookson & Clegg back in 2015, knows this challenge intimately. The firm’s last military contract — producing uniforms for the British army — ended in 2009. Today, it manufactures designs for Grant’s Community Clothing label and employs nearly 2,000 people. He believes government procurement could provide the foundation many manufacturers lack. “Manufacturing requires steady state business with good visibility and long-term demand,” he explained. “That’s the kind of thing that government procurement can do.”
Global Precedents and Security Concerns
The debate is not without international precedent. In the United States, contracts for military uniforms are required by law to be fulfilled by domestic companies, a stipulation rooted in the Berry amendment passed in 1941. By 2025, the American military uniform market had reached $1.62 billion (£1.19 billion) — a significant figure that underscores the economic potential of such a policy.
Some politicians have gone further, framing the issue as one of national security. Iain Duncan Smith warned in July that army uniforms being manufactured in China posed a strategic threat, telling The Telegraph it was “tantamount to having our uniforms made by Nazi Germany in the 1930s.”
Grant echoed those concerns, stressing the vulnerability of supply chains stretched across geopolitically unstable regions. “We are currently producing a lot of stuff in countries that we do not have the most stable relationships with. If something bad were to happen, we would have no resilience at all in our supply chains.”
He also highlighted the urgency of planning for a rapidly changing labour market. “We have to try to think about where jobs are going to come from in the version of our society that we’re going to have in 10 years’ time when AI really starts to kick in,” he added. “Why not just get ahead of it?”
A Political Path Forward
Campaigners are pinning their hopes on Burnham, whose personal affinity for British-made goods is well documented. The Labour leader is known to purchase suits from Private White VC, a Manchester-based brand, and has publicly argued that government procurement should prioritise UK manufacturers over the lowest-cost overseas suppliers.
Kate Hills expressed cautious optimism. “Maybe he is the prime minister that sees the value of products that are actually made here,” she said.
Grant, however, acknowledged that political will alone would not solve the problem. Even if contracts were reserved for British companies, the application process remains prohibitively complex for smaller firms. “Unless you’re a 20,000-employee operation with an enormous clerical department … something needs to happen on that side, too,” he noted.
Reforming bureaucratic barriers to ensure that domestic manufacturers can actually access these contracts will be just as critical as the policy decision itself.
Why it Matters
The campaign to reshore uniform manufacturing is about far more than clothing. It represents a broader test of whether the UK can rebuild its industrial base at a time when traditional sectors face existential pressure from globalisation, automation, and shifting labour markets. With billions already wasted through failed pandemic-era procurement, the evidence is clear that domestic production — when properly supported — generates significant economic value, creates skilled employment, and strengthens national resilience. As supply chains grow more fragile and technological change accelerates, the case for maintaining sovereign manufacturing capability is not merely symbolic; it is a strategic imperative that demands urgent political action.
