Made in Britain is a not-for-profit organisation that supports British manufacturers under a single, registered collective mark. The mark represents a standard of quality and unity for the British manufacturing sector within the UK and around the world. The organisation works closely with the UK government and other groups to support skilled jobs and encourage creativity and sustainable growth. It campaigns all year round for British manufacturing.
History
Made in Britain first began as the Made in Britain campaign in 2011. This campaign was established by – a Prescot-based cooker manufacturer. Stoves commissioned independent market research using 1,000 adults to discover the public’s opinion on British manufacturing – and whether it actually made a difference to people’s buying habits. From the study, 55% said that supporting UK manufacturing and jobs was their main incentive to buy British and 36% claimed to buy British whenever they can. Following the research, Stoves launched a competition to design a logo for the newly established campaign. The winner was Cynthia Lee, a student designer from the University of Nottingham. On 11 July 2011, the accreditation marque was unveiled and British businesses were invited to apply to use the logo for the first time. After receiving support from the Labour Party and with over 600 members on board, a new Made in Britain marque was commissioned in May 2013. The new design was finalised in June 2013 and Made in Britain was officially launched as an independent, non-profit organisation in December 2013.
Board of members
Following the successful launch of Made in Britain as a not-for-profit organisation, a board of members was established. This is made up of volunteer members of Made in Britain, and leadership from other groups that support British design, trade and industry. The current board members are:
In April 2015, the campaign employed John Pearce as a full-time Chief Executive Officer. John joined the Made in Britain Campaign from the GREAT Britain Campaign, the government's overseas business, tourism and education initiative.
One collective mark for all manufacturers
After it was commissioned by the board, the second iteration of the Made in Britain mark was created and designed by Kevin Lan and Miranda Bolter at The Partners. Inspired by a corner of the Union Flag, the mark is designed to be instantly recognisable as the Made in Britain organisation. When businesses join Made in Britain as a member they get licensed access for one year to the Made in Britain suite of marks to use on their products, packaging and marketing material. Flexible in size and scope, it’s used by more than 1000 businesses in a number of industries. From large-scale industrial products and vehicles down to independently manufactured textiles, the collective mark is clear indicator of the diversity of British manufacturing. Members often use the collective mark alongside their ISO9000, BSI accreditations and the Queen’s Award for Export symbol.
Types of manufacture
The biggest appeal of the Made in Britain organisation is that it celebrates the diverse nature of British manufacturing today, not years ago. To join the organisation and be licensed to use the collective mark, businesses must become members of Made in Britain. When members join, they fall into a set category type:
To prove their eligibility, companies must be transparent in their claims and display supporting information about their manufacturing process and policies. Upon joining, members are put into tiers depending on the financial turnover of the organisation – from T1 organisations to T4 organisations. T4 organisations include Vauxhall that use the Made in Britain mark on its range of Vivaro vans. Rory Harvey, Vauxhall’s chairman and managing director, said:
“We are very proud of our 113-year heritage of building vehicles in Britain, and being part of this campaign is a great way to communicate this.”
“The Made in Britain campaign does a brilliant job of reminding customers that we have a highly-skilled workforce on our doorstep, producing thousands of high quality products.”
T3 and T2 organisations include Roman Showers and Fracino – you’ll find the Made in Britain marque featured on a large number of products. Velopresso is an example of a T1 organisation that has used the Made in Britain marque as a way to communicate its commitment to British manufacture.
“For us, the Made in Britain marque testifies not only to the provenance of Velopresso, but also to the strong relationships we’ve built with all those involved in its design and manufacture.”
Software makers
Made in Britain launched a new, digital category for membership on 4th May, 2020. Makers of software became eligible to join the organisation, if they can prove that the workforce employed to make their software end product was working in Britain, for their business at the time the product was made available for sale.
Made in Britain established a news/updates page for members of the organisation that make PPE in Britain, or have been able to pivot their business to make products to address the increase in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Future plans
Made in Britain works to help government, local authorities and the general public wherever it can, to help them identify and purchase products made by their members. This means on-going dialogue with policy makers and decision makers at HM Crown Commercial Service, the Department for International Trade and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It is widely accepted that products made closer to where they are used have less negative impact on the environment.
