EXCLUSIVE Interview: Katherine Poulton talks grannies and supermodels

Having launched in October, The North Circular is set to change the way we consider ethical knitting. Katherine Poulton, model and one of the label’s founders, answered Lucie Goulet’s question on hipster wool, the meaning of being an ethical label and the main aims of The North Circular.

How did the idea for The North Circular come about?

Lily (Cole) and I have been friends for years. As well as painting the town red, we would always bounce around the idea of a knitwear line with grannies hand knitting, more as a joke than a reality.

We began crystallising the plan when my gran started knitting the circular neck snug (it partly inspired the name of the company). We both became involved with Izzy Lane, through working with the charity Trees for Cities (a charity dedicated to “the planting and protection of trees everywhere, and in particular inner city areas”). The combination of our knitting ideas and her amazing animal rescue wool seemed too good to be missed.

Between us we envisioned a company that would return value to the hand-made product, personalize the process of production, rekindle the relationship between the producer and the purchaser – knitter and scarf wearer. (Through The North Circular website, customers can write and thank their knitter!)

How did you get Lily Cole involved? How is her involvement different from all the celebrity endorsements we see those days?

Lily was involved from the conception of this idea, and so she is not a celebrity endorsement, but an intrinsic part of the brand and its great ethos.

Where does the design inspiration come from?

It comes from designing items we would love to wear, high fashion wearable, chunky knits, while keeping the traditional hand knit elements strong with fisherman’s ribs, traditional diamonds, cables and beautiful moss stitch.

What sort of women are your clothes aimed at?

We have designed a range that is accessible to everyone. The more sculptural pieces, the necklace, collar, cuffs and fingerless gloves are aimed at the hip crowd; the classic diamond and cable knits are more interesting for the older client.

Men all love our diamond scarf and beanie, and also we have miniaturised 4 of our designs for children… who can resist a kid in a knitted hat with a big bobble on?

What has the response to The North Circular been so far?

Everyone is very excited about us. We are a community company and supporting the UK industries, the sheep, handcrafts, donating money to charity, making beautiful long lasting goods, what is there not to like? Everyone can relate to the pleasure of having something lovingly handmade for them.

What is the main hurdle facing ethical designers these days?

The main hurdle is that we have to carry the label “ethical”, while normal designers don’t have to carry the label “NON ETHICAL” if they are not making moves to be more ethical.

Not that I want to be compared to a vegetable, but its the same issue that organic vegetables are having: “NON ORGANIC” veg should be labeled so, and consumers should receive an explanation as to why they are getting something so cheaply and what it is costing the earth. Then it would be clear to people why they should be willing to spend that little bit more on something that has good ethos and is an investment

What schemes do you have in place to make The North Circular an eco-aware company?

First of all, we are going to great lengths to keep all parts of our production in the UK and therefore lower mileage. We hope to produce a really unique product that supports UK industries and doesn’t cost the earth by being shipped/flown around the world.

We are also keeping packaging and printing to a minimum, using recycled cardboard and hand stamping wherever possible.

We only use the completely natural product wool to make our clothes by manpower, no big factory machines are involved.

We are using Eco and non-harmful dyes for our wool, and our sheep graze on organic land.

We will be donating a percentage of our profits every year directly to a charity of our choice. Our first charity is the Environmental Justice Foundation.

We plan to do supporting the elderly events, including Christmas hampers to old people’s homes and knitting events. One of our ethical aims is to revive cross generation relations through knitting.

We will be organizing live knitting events around London and the UK, supporting passing on the tradition of hand knitting.

What other eco brands do you admire?

We admire From Somewhere, we think the recycling of fabrics they do is amazing.

Beautiful Soul was another newcomer at Estethica who makes new versatile clothes out of vintage kimonos and silk. I love Katherine Hamnett, who has been strong and beautiful since the dawn of ethical fashion.

I’m also very supportive of Vivienne Westwood’s Save the Rainforest campaign because, as she says, once the rainforests are gone, all our days are numbered.

The North Circular

Environmental Justice Foundation

Related GMS article: http://www.greenmystyle.com/lily-cole-and-friends-launch-the-north-circular/