Celtic gives wellies the boot
15/01/2009
The Celtic Sheepskin Co, based in Newquay, Cornwall, is to phase out one of its most popular products because it does not fit the company's green sourcing policy.
It is going to stop selling its sheepskin-lined wellington boots because the only suppliers it can find are in China. The company has committed to sourcing most of its products in Europe and says that, before taking the decision, it launched "a fruitless search" for a supplier closer to home that could meet its quality standards.
Managing director, Nick Whitworth, explained: “We’ve taken a very conscious decision to reduce our carbon footprint and source our products as ethically as possible from Europe-based suppliers. Our customers have responded very positively to this policy, so we would rather pull one of our ranges, even though it is very popular, than compromise.”
Celtic director Kath Whitworth added: “We now offer a carbon neutral delivery service for the 90,000 products we ship each year so importing goods from China didn’t make sense, and we found it harder to monitor quality and working conditions. We would like to continue to offer our customers wellies, but so far can’t find an alternative supplier who can deliver the quality we demand."
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