Laura Cummings: Sporran-making industry knocked right out of kilter

Published on Monday 25 July 2011 13:20

Rising costs and cheap imports are creating a bleak future for traditional pouches, finds Laura Cummings

THEY have been worn with pride for generations as part of our national dress. But production of the home-grown sporran is facing an uncertain future following last year's EU ban on seal skin being used to make the traditional pouch.

Manufacturers have been forced to use other skins to make the sporran, including mink, rabbit and musquash, but with prices for the alternative skins doubling in recent months, the Scottish sporran-making industry has been well brought to its knees.

To make matters worse, the cost of pewter and silver, often used to decorate the sporran, has also risen.

William Scott and Son, the largest sporran manufacturer in Scotland, said the price of rabbit skin had doubled in the past three months. Mink and musquash are also up, raw pewter has increased by more than 20 per cent, and the cost of leather has risen by ten per cent.

Stephen Scott, 30, a partner in the Edinburgh-based family-run business, said the industry was facing a "bleak" future. He said: "The way things are just now, the manufacturing side of the business is not looking very promising.

"Cheap and nasty imports made from artificial leather are flooding in from India and Pakistan and that has affected the handmade crafted sporran.

"By the time we buy in our leather and raw materials, the shops have got these cheap imported sporrans retailing at the same kind of price before we have even started to make them. There's just no way we can ever compete."

Mr Scott said cheap imports had led to a "significant" decline in business over the last seven years, with the manufacturer producing half the sporrans it was ten years ago.

He added: "Somebody decided that they would make a cheap version of a sporran and the consequence has been astronomical.

"When tourists see what they think is a Scottish shop, they maybe always presume the sporrans are made here but in fact they're not.

"I'm very concerned. The business has been in the family for four generations, but it is becoming more and more difficult to try and survive."

Mr Scott, whose grandfather, the late William, set up the business in 1937, said the cost of raw materials had increased "dramatically" - between ten and 50 per cent depending on the type of skin since the turn of the year.

He said: "China is buying a lot of these skins for coats from skin merchants and then just holding them and deciding what price they want.

"It just means when we are looking to buy the skins, the price becomes astronomical because they can demand what they want."

Chris Sharman, proprietor of Manacraft Leather and Highland Company on Bruntsfield Place, which produces and sells bespoke sporrans, among other items, had a more positive outlook.

He said: "As long as people are wearing kilts, people will want to buy sporrans.

"Some of the imported ones are of an inferior quality and so eventually the public may realise that buying a homemade one in Scotland means you get a better sporran."

Duncan Chisholm, 70, chairman of the Kilt Makers' Association of Scotland, believes the handful of sporran makers in the country will gradually fade away over the next ten to 15 years.

He said: "The way things are going, it may be very difficult for the trade to exist in the future. The worry is that we won't have sporran makers anymore. What could happen is that we have mass-produced sporrans being imported, but a much smaller selection which are not of the quality that they have been.

"The quality established businesses in Scotland might not last more than ten to 15 years."

Manufacturers selling sporrans have been forced to review their prices to cover the increase in raw material costs. William Scott and Son has put the price of some sporrans up by five per cent and said although it had avoided making staff cuts so far, it would be "inevitable" over the next few months.

Mr Scott's father, Malcolm, also a partner in the business, said: "The whole traditional Scottish sporran-making industry is on its knees.

"We just don't know what the future may hold. We are trying to work as hard as possible but the current climate and recession have not helped things either. If the situation keeps going the way it's going, none of us will be here. Once the skill has gone, it is gone and it's not going to be replaced."

UNDER THE SKIN

SKINS used to make sporrans as alternative to seal skin:

Pony: Long-haired, good-wearing skin. Probably the closest to the traditional seal skin that was previously used.

Rabbit: A very furry, bulky skin. Some sporran makers dye the skin a variety of colours to suit the customer, including bright red.

Mink: Comes in grey-blue and white, not too bushy and makes a nice evening sporran.

Musquash: Fairly traditional and a very good substitute for the otter skin sporran, which is now a banned sporran product.