Great British Sewing Bee judge says 'people want made in Blackburn' on clothes

The Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant says more people want to see "made in Blackburn" on their clothing labels, during an appearance on This Morning.

Patrick, founder of Blackburn-based Community Clothing, appeared on the ITV show this week to talk about sustainable fashion.

Community Clothing is an ethical clothing brand that aims to make exceptional quality everyday clothes from the best natural materials in fantastic British factories, and radically simplify the business model so that they can be sold at great value everyday prices.

Speaking to Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, Patrick said consumers like to "be connected" to the clothes they wear.

He said: “Being connected to things brings us joy. We make clothes in Blackburn.

"There are a lot of people who love to see ‘made in Blackburn’ or ‘made in England’ on the label.

“Being connected [to clothes] makes us value them.

“We have lost a lot of jobs in this country because of changing patterns of consumption. The clothes, and other things around us, have gotten worse [in terms of quality]

“Wearing things we care about, that are made locally, is not just good for the planet, it is good for [creating] job too.”

The Great British Sewing Bee, a show where amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer, will return for its 10th series this year.

Patrick said: “We were really surprised that it got past the first year. I remember Claudia [Winkleman] saying no one is going to watch this and 10 years later here we are.

“It’s made us think about our clothes and made us look carefully at what we buy and understand what things are made from.

“I am very proud of what we have quietly achieved.

“People are starting to think about remaking things out of old things and repairing their clothes.”

The 10th series of the Sewing Bee is set to return to our screens on Tuesday, May 21, at 9pm.

In the first episode of the new series, the sewers must make an A-line denim midi skirt and then transform a t-shirt into a new item of clothing.

Patrick has written a book called Less, which is now available for purchase.

It is described as a “passionate and revealing book about loving clothes but hating the way they’re made”.

Watch the episode of This Morning on ITVX.