Friends and field-goers,
What a couple of weeks — and breathe!
As we search for our ‘syndicate’ members, the team that is going to help drive the business forward, we are questioning our own existence.
There is something special about making here in England, but not everyone is as enthusiastic as us.
The bad news this week is numerous country outfitters in the Shires just don’t see a market for fieldwear that is ‘made in Great Britain’ and 'sustainable' — especially when it comes to price.
The good news is that two shooting schools do see our value and we will be working with them to be stocked in 2026. What a win. We now need to deliver on their initial interest.
However, even with the good news, reality took a bite out of us this week.
It was hard watching.
We saw a new business launch on social media. It went from 3 posts and a few hundred followers to thousands of followers, selling out in under a week. Heartbreakingly all the stock was fast fashion, seemingly from the Far East. £80 for a shirt that likely cost less than £10 to manufacture in an unsustainable way.
This experience was also confusing.
The reality of seeing ‘made in anywhere’ sell out made us ask ourselves — are we launching TWELVEBORE with the right belief and systems? Are we in it for the right reason? Is there a market for ‘Made in Great Britain’?
We have done away with delivery and returns fees to position us as easy to shop with and hopefully more competitive. Shipping is an easy cost to work into our pricing, but why — for example — are our shirts priced at £138?
Firstly, our English milled, dyed and woven fabric cost is £20 - £30 per shirt.
We have chosen sustainability over profit and our buttons are made of a natural derivative found in cow's milk, which takes eight weeks to grow — literally, grow like a mille-feuille. These buttons are then hand cleaned and machine turned before being fed into a laser guided etching machine one by one, by the lovely Lisa here in the Cotswolds.
The human time devoted to making one of our beautiful shirts is over three hours of hand-made labour. This labour is above the London Living Wage but also priced to reflect the 30 years of experience our shirt makers have. As Vivienne Westwood said: buy less, choose well, make it last.
We must also allow for a small proportion of all the behind the scene costs – sampling, design work, digital, META, business insurance, trademark costs, shipping etc – to be recouped by each of the 400 garments we have initially invested in.
Why do we care about our approach?
- We believe fieldsports clothing should be made as close as possible to, and support, the community it serves
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Sustainability is essential. As a topic it is also front and centre to what comes with shooting and other fieldsports. Slow fashion, as we have chosen to pursue, has a lower impact on the environment through production and wear
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Supporting local communities, often very small businesses that pay people properly for highly valuable and increasingly rare knowledge, is a kinship shared with fieldsports and rural Britain.We are doing as we would hope to be done by
Ultimately, our clothing is a pledge to rebalance the relationship between fashion and the field — more sustainable, no more one-use plastics, locally made, with technically superior fit and functionality #ForTheField.
Most retailers price up 2x on their wholesale price — it is why they can offer a sale, they are still making great margins.
We allow for less than 1x as we want to get the brand in the field, on the peg and into the hands of those that will enjoy it.
I need to be patient; ride the rollercoaster.
For all of you that are still reading this week's KIR – thank you.
For all of those of you that received your pre-orders and are believing in us, backing us – double and triple thank you.
A quick stocking update: Bobble hats are a week away, women's polos a few more, followed by men’s polo shirts in 2026. Shooting vests are to follow and be launched at the shooting show — if you have already ordered one of our handmade shooting vests, I can guarantee it will come in time to be wrapped up for Christmas.
