Knitting Together

The Heritage of the East Midlands Knitting Industry

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Globalisation and a changing industry 1970-Present

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A global world
Improved transport networks and communications technologies made global trade in the twentieth century easier. Jet planes move packages quickly around the world and telephones, faxes and email enable people to share thoughts and make instant decisions. Companies used these developments to expand their businesses. Courtaulds and Coats Paton opened up overseas factories where they employed workers on a lower wage than in the UK.  More >>

New entrepreneurs
The 1950s and 1960s saw the arrival in the East Midlands of people from across the Commonwealth. Labour shortages in the region provided jobs for the new arrivals. Leicester experienced high levels of shortages and welcomed people into the knitting and shoe industries. By 1971 over 26,000 Commonwealth citizens from India, Pakistan, East Africa and the Caribbean had arrived in the city. The Belgrave and Highfields suburbs of Leicester housed many of these people.  More >>

Advances in knitting technology
The 1970s saw the introduction of early computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems. Designers used the CAD system to create product designs and transferred them to CAM machines to manufacture the final product. CAD/CAM technology replaced the mechanical shaping and patterning devices on machines with electronic controls. The systems enabled companies to respond quickly to changes in demand. New designs could be set up using CAD and instantly produced on the CAM machine.  More >>

The industry in the 21st Century
The British knitting industry has been in decline since the mid-1970s. Post-war employment peaked at 159,000 in 1973-4 and then started to fall. The figure fell below 100,000 in the early 1980s, 50,000 in the mid-1990s and reached around 30,000 in 2002. Periods of bankruptcies and closures in 1979-82, 1989-91, and 1998 to present (2003) have led to many of the job losses. An estimated two-thirds of employees still in the industry are women.  More >>

The future
Despite the problems of recent decades the East Midlands region still has a significant knitting industry and a number of advantages over other areas. The scale of the industry compared with other regions in the UK makes the provision of specialist support possible (e.g. education/training, business support services). The Region's lower cost of living and a surplus of workers, compared with other regions in the south of the country, make lower wages more acceptable to employees. Links to the country's specialist clothing distribution network enable the industry's output to be delivered quickly across the country.  More >>

Preserving the heritage
The decline of the East Midlands knitting industry and the relocation of companies has left a wealth of empty buildings in town and cities. Alternative uses for some of these structures have helped to preserve them and ensure that the industry's built heritage survives. Conversion to flats has regenerated city centre sites and provided valuable living accommodation. Between 1996 and 2002, 49 of the 84 conversion schemes submitted to Leicester City Council involved factories and warehouses. Student housing accounted for 32 of the 84 schemes and provided accommodation for 5,698 students.  More >>