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A celebrity-backed campaign is aiming to reignite the underwear industry in the Valleys and boost the local economy – one stitch at a time.
Many global brands once made their underwear in south Wales – Gossard produced the famous Wonderbra in Pontllanfraith.
But through the 1990s and early 2000s all of the major factories in the region closed, as businesses moved production to the Far East.
Patrick Grant, a judge for the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee, is a founder of Community Clothing – the social enterprise behind the campaign to restart the industry.
Once it has secured pre-orders for 10,000 pieces of underwear, it will re-start production at AJM Sewing in New Tredegar.
Dubbed Hello Boyos! – a play on Wonderbra’s well-known Hello Boys advertisement of the 1990s – the promotion has the backing of BBC Wales’ Wynne Evans and comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean, who have been photographed by renowned British portrait photographer Chris Floyd.
Patrick told Caerphilly Observer more about the reason for focusing on New Tredegar.
He said: “There’s such an incredible skill base in the area. I really didn’t want to see it go to waste.
“In the short-term, we’d love to be able to bring a small team back to work full-time making everyday underwear.”
He continued: “Longer term we’d love to re-employ everyone who was working there before it closed. And more than that we’d love people in Wales to experience the pride we know they’ll feel wearing underwear made in Wales.”
It would also mean employment in an area such as New Tredegar ward where 50.5% of people are economically active compared to the Welsh average of 53.5%, according to the ONS Census 2021.
Patrick continued: “Supporting our campaign means supporting the growth of good jobs in a corner of the UK that really needs them.
“I want people to know that we have a brilliant heritage in making clothes in the UK, and in particular making underwear in South Wales, and I want them to know that we can all play a part in rebuilding our local economy, and doing a bit of good for the planet, by buying more things made locally.”
Patrick wants people to get involved – in any way they can.
He continued: “If you can afford to, please, order a few pairs of pants or a bra, and please share with friends, family, anyone you know who fancy some Welsh-made undies.
“And if you can’t afford what we do, think about other local businesses you might be able to support in different ways because even the smallest bit of support means a lot.”
More about the underwear available can be found at CommunityClothing.co.uk
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