A MILL’S campaign to protect tartan woven in the Highlands has been told the Scottish Government does not have the powers to safeguard it and that it’s down to Westminster.
The owner of the weaving mill Prickly Thistle located in Easter Ross, Clare Campbell, is campaigning for the approval of a Highland Tartan Act after being inspired by the Harris Tweed Act of 1993.
Campbell is calling for legislation to protect tartan woven in the north of Scotland in a bid to allow Highlanders to reclaim the iconic national dress, which was banned after the Battle Of Culloden.
However, speaking to the Sunday Post the mill owner said that a month after submitting a petition to the Scottish Parliament to have the legislation considered she was told it could not be accepted as “intellectual property and geographic indicator regulations are a reserved issue”.
Campbell said she was “shocked” to learn that Holyrood has no say in Scotland’s geographical indicator regulations and that the power lies with Westminster.
Geographic indicator regulations protect the names and products which are associated with a specific region with unique characteristics, like Stornoway Black Pudding.
“Tartan is an icon of our country,” Campbell told the Sunday Post as she aims to take her campaign to Westminster and reached out to the MP for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber, Brendan O’Hara (below).
The SNP MP said when Campbell reached out to her in October, he was unaware she would have to take her fight to Westminster.
“We assumed it would be a devolved power,” he said.
“Not only would it mean something to the diaspora of people across the globe that are passionate about this, but it would bring an economic boost to fragile, rural communities.”
He has also taken the next step to help Campbell with her campaign, asking the House Of Commons which department is responsible for taking her petition forward.
“I love the idea of this powerful, focused, driven, creative woman being the driving force behind saving an ancient Scottish industry,” O’Hara said.
“I think from this we could start working towards a system where, if a geographic indicator is exclusively relevant to Scotland, it is a decision for the Scottish Parliament.”
Drew Hendry (below), ex-SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said “there’s no downside” for the Highland tartan to be protected.
“There is no reason to object to it – it harms no one and benefits a whole range of people,” he said.
Prickly Thistle is the only tartan-weaving mill in the mainland Highlands as Campbell believes she may be the only woman to ever own one.
The proposed Highland Tartan Act would aim to see that any tartan woven in the Highlands would have a stamp of protected authenticity.
“It’s trying to take something back that has always had our name on it but has never been ours,” Campbell said.
She explained that she hasn’t been deterred in her campaign and believes it could even work in her favour as she said: “It could be good for us as Westminster might see it for what it is: something that makes sense.”
“For me, if they say yes, brilliant. If they say no, still brilliant.
“Stories that have had the most hardship are the ones cherished going forward. They make the biggest impact. We are going into this feeling fearless. This is for all of us and all the people who will come after.”
A spokesperson for the UK Government said: “We are incredibly proud of the cultural and economic contribution of Highland tartans to the UK, which is why we have several cross-government programmes to support the industry.
“Tartan may be eligible for protection in the UK through intellectual property rights, including registered designs or trade marks. Collective and certification trade marks can be used to designate the geographical origins of goods.”
