For years my career was in magazine writing and editing, so there is no better way to talk about a subject I am passionate about: Scotland’s mills.
Recently, I had the opportunity to do just that for Scottish Field.
Tucked away in Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, Andrew Elliot Mill is not trying to compete with the speed or scale of modern fashion. Instead, it does something far more valuable.
It weaves cloth slowly.
Founded in the 1960s, the mill was built at a time when the Borders textile industry was already beginning to change. As larger mills closed and production moved overseas, Andrew Elliot took a different path, setting up on his own and drawing on a local workforce of highly skilled weavers and tuners.
Today, that smallness is its strength.
Unlike larger operations, the mill can remain agile. It produces small batches, bespoke tweeds and highly specific commissions that larger manufacturers cannot accommodate. Whether it is a family tartan, a wedding commission or cloth for a private client, everything is made with care and intention.
This is slow fashion in its truest sense.
It is not just about producing less, but about producing better.
The looms themselves tell part of the story. Many date back decades and require not just maintenance but deep, hard-earned knowledge to keep them running. Skills that are rarely written down and instead passed from one generation to the next.
And that is where the real challenge lies.
As Robin Elliot, now managing director, points out, fewer young people are entering the trade. The work is physical, technical and demanding. It is easier to sit behind a screen than to learn the intricacies of a loom.
Yet without these skills, the future of Scottish mills like this becomes uncertain.
At the same time, demand for what they produce is growing.
Customers are increasingly drawn to Scottish knitwear, Scottish textiles and products that are genuinely made in Scotland. There is a growing appreciation for sustainable fashion that is rooted in craft, provenance and longevity.
The mill’s clients reflect this. From local customers who have bought their tweed for decades, to international buyers, to bespoke commissions for private individuals. Even film and television productions have sought out their work.
Because what they produce is not just cloth.
It has weight, texture and story.
It stands in direct contrast to fast fashion, where garments are worn briefly and discarded quickly. The pace of consumption has accelerated, but the connection to what we wear has diminished.
Mills like Andrew Elliot offer an alternative.
They remind us that clothing can be made to last. That it can carry meaning. That it can be traced back to a place, to people and to a process.
And perhaps most importantly, they remind us that these things are still possible.
We often talk about sustainable fashion as if it is something new. But places like this have been quietly practising it for decades.
Slow fashion is not a trend here. It is simply the way things are done.
If we want a future where quality, craft and longevity still matter, then these Scottish mills are not just worth celebrating.
They are worth supporting.
