SCOTTISH textile brand Harris Tweed is marking a milestone in its long history.
Harris Tweed is more than 100 years old but it was a special act of parliament 25 years ago that saved the iconic fabric and the jobs of hundreds of people.
READ MORE: Western Isles awarded World Craft City status for Harris Tweed
Harris Tweed is the only textile in the world to have its own act of parliament and the industry risked being being located outwith the Western Isles without its protection.
Crucially, the legislation insists Harris Tweed can only be made in the Western Isles which secures employment for the 400 islanders working in the sector.
READ MORE: A fashion designer has created a custom-made Harris Tweed suit for a horse
Although attempts are continuously made to illicitly pass off non-Harris Tweed as the real thing, lawyers armed with the backing of the Harris Tweed Act of 1993 limit the impact of counterfeiting.
Norman L Macdonald, chairman of the Harris Tweed Authority, said: “This is one of the great milestones in the industry.
“This is the only cloth in the world which is governed by an act of parliament. The legislation was required in the first place because of counterfeiting which risked the islands losing a great number of jobs.”
He added that the 1993 act is “absolutely” very relevant today and “protects the unique cloth from being counterfeited” with the Harris Tweed Authority set up as its watchdog.
Colin Hulme of legal firm Burness Paull is the Harris Tweed Authority’s intellectual property lawyer.
Hulme and his team “quote the Harris Tweed Act on a weekly basis” to counterfeiters and brand abusers.
He added: “To me, the really important thing is the status it gives Harris Tweed as a cloth.
“People in the textile industry respect the cloth because of the high ranking afforded by the legislation.”
In April, the Harris Tweed Authority won a trademark case – plus £25,000 expenses – against Tartan House of Scotland’s parent company.
In 2013, retailer TK Maxx agreed to pay a “five-figure sum” to settle a dispute involving alleged unauthorised use of the Harris Tweed name.
For generations, the sector has provided employment to many islanders and was the backbone of the Western Isles economy.
But mainland mills in the 1960s started calling their products Harris Tweed.
Lord Hunter’s seminal judgment ruled all Harris Tweed production processes had to be carried out in the Western Isles.
And in the eighties a leading designer launched a logo strongly resembling the Harris Tweed Orb trademark.
The Orb, pressed onto every length of cloth and seen on the traditional label affixed to finished items, guarantees the highest quality tweed, dyed, spun and handwoven by islanders of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland in their homes to the laws outlined in the Harris Tweed Act of Parliament.
The sector is currently estimated to be worth more than £12 million. Output last year was 1.7m metres.
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