Today the Falkland Islands are celebrating their Britishness after exercising their right to self determination. A unanimous vote in favour of keeping their existing ties to Great Britain is welcome news for both islanders and for us here on the mainland. However, it does beg the question of whether goods made on the Falklands, and indeed any British sovereign state, fall within the remit of acceptability for our project. We would personally like to think so, but what do you think?
Although is this question a merely an academic one? What is there actually available to buy in the UK that is produced on the Falkland Islands? We would love to get a list together if possible.
Please post your comments on this page.
I’m happy to consider Falkland made good British
Wool!
The Falklands produces amazing Merino or similar wool from breeds derived from Merino sheep. The climate and conditions there are perfect for producing high quality fine wool with little or no use of chemicals, absolutely no mulesing is needed and the sheep are grazing on British soil. The wool is either certified Organic, or in practice is virtually organic.
We had no hesitation in including Falklands wool in the list of British wools to make the Woolsack cushions for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
I love the idea of what you’re doing, but what’s your actual motivation? If it’s supporting local producers or environmental sustainability, then I’m afraid the Falklands fail big-style on either of those. But if it’s just the intellectual challenge, then that’s potentially different.
Hello Emma. I understood the original challenge to ‘only buy British Manufactured Goods from British Manufacturers’. For me; in doing this it seems to have promoted a local economy, which is great, and as this project has gathered momentum it appears that this attitude could have an effect on a more National scale. There has never been any claim to have a political agenda and we could so easily over-complicate what is essentially a simple philosophy.
smile@petercrowther.co.uk
Thank you. In that case, if promoting a local economy, Falklands = no.
I would say, “Yes!”
It’s a tricky one, as this is exactly the kind of issue which leads to colonialism. Historically, we ‘ran’ countries in order so that we could profit from the trade routes – be it bananas, tea, and so on (and there’s all the ethical problems about us “owning” these countries, which is probably too big for this). Whereas my understanding of your current challenge is that you’re talking about supporting products made in the same [geographical] country as you live in.
Thinking back, if you consider your question above but about Hong Kong, doesn’t it seem odd that you could have bought goods made there in 1997, yet in 1998 your logic prevents you even if it’s made by the same person in the same factory and shipped over via the same route…
I think this question then enters the concept of….is flying it across the world still “good”. My support of British manufacturing and production ties in with my philosophy that things should be local, for the benefit of the environment. Whilst I would love to support GREAT(er) Britain, my personal preference would be, if I can get it closer to home, then that’s great. Having said that, getting Scottish wool and Jersey butter can be argued to be exactly the same so….jury’s out here!
I do like the way that Asda name the Farmer who produced ‘homegrown’ produce and the County in which their farm is.
I would say yes to the Falklands, and Gibraltar etc, but strangely supermarkets don’t even know how to label British goods. Produce from N Ireland, part or the UK, is displayed under “foreign foods” in Asda.
Maybe that’s because Asda are owned by an American company and don’t actually understand geography?!
Good retort!
Ah ha, that’s why Asda thinks that chicken from Holland, is produced in the UK !