The thinktank Fashion Roundtable is delivering a letter to Downing Street this week urging Andy Burnham to commit to manufacturing NHS and defence force uniforms within the UK. The letter has been signed by more than 1,200 people, including adventurer Ben Fogle and Great British Sewing Bee presenter Patrick Grant.

At the centre of the letter's argument is the claim that awarding public procurement contracts for textile goods to UK based manufacturers represents one of the most significant tools available for supporting skills retention, inclusive growth and regional resilience. The thinktank described public procurement as one of the biggest levers available for achieving these aims.

To support its case, the letter points to the findings of the Covid inquiry, which concluded that nearly £10 billion of public money was wasted through the flawed procurement of personal protective equipment, much of which was manufactured in China. It draws a contrast with Scotland's approach during the same period, where £102.7 million was invested in PPE and 88 per cent of it was produced domestically in 2021, generating £66.7 million in additional economic value and creating 1,400 jobs.

Kate Hills, founder of the manufacturing organisation Make It British, said that contracts of this kind could give UK manufacturers the confidence to expand their workforce and plan for the long term, rather than operating on a day to day basis. She said such agreements would allow companies the breathing space needed to think beyond short term survival.

The letter also draws on international precedent, noting that while some British Army uniforms are currently manufactured in China, the United States has required by law that its military uniforms be produced domestically since 1941, under the Berry Amendment. The American market for this industry reached $1.62 billion, or £1.19 billion, in 2025.

Hills said she hoped Burnham might be receptive to the proposal, pointing to his own preference for UK made clothing, including his choice of suits from the Manchester based brand Private White VC. She noted that Burnham has previously argued government procurement should do more to support UK manufacturers rather than defaulting to the lowest cost overseas suppliers, suggesting he may be sympathetic to products that are actually made domestically.

Patrick Grant brings first-hand experience of the sector to the campaign. In 2015, he invested in Blackburn-based military outfitters Cookson & Clegg, whose last British Army uniform contract ended in 2009. The firm now produces designs for Grant’s own label, Community Clothing, which employs almost 2,000 people. Grant said manufacturing relies on steady, long-term demand and clear visibility, which he believes government procurement is well placed to provide.

Despite his support for the principle, Grant acknowledged that bidding for such contracts remains difficult in practice. He said the current procurement process is unfeasibly complicated for all but the largest operations, describing it as accessible mainly to companies with tens of thousands of employees and substantial administrative departments. He argued that reforming this process would need to accompany any shift toward domestic manufacturing.

The campaign also touches on security concerns raised earlier this year. In July, Iain Duncan Smith described the manufacture of army uniforms in China as a security issue, drawing a controversial comparison to having uniforms made by Nazi Germany in the 1930s, in comments made to the Telegraph.

Grant echoed some of these concerns from a supply chain perspective, noting that a significant amount of production currently takes place in countries with which the UK does not maintain the most stable relationships. He warned that this leaves the country with little resilience in its supply chains should circumstances change.

Looking beyond the immediate uniform contracts, Grant argued that procurement legislation of this kind could play a broader role in future proofing employment, creating jobs tied to goods that will always be required. He said this kind of forward planning was particularly important as automation and artificial intelligence begin to reshape the wider labour market, suggesting it would be better to prepare for these changes in advance rather than react to them later.

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