Howies

Howies is a clothing company based in west Wales. The company was founded in 1995 and produces eco-friendly T-shirts, jeans and sportswear, with the aim of having ethically correct practices.[2][3] Howies use natural fabrics as alternatives to petrochemical-derived modern fabrics, including organic cotton, Merino wool and recycled cotton.[4][5] Howies T-shirts often have images or slogans with political or environmental themes and are screen printed by hand in a workshop located at the brand headquarters.[5]

Howies
howies
IndustryOutdoor apparel, Sporting goods
Founded1995
FounderDavid and Clare Hieatt
Headquarters
Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire[1]
,
Wales
ProductsClothing
Websitehowies.co.uk

Brand

The Howies brand has a strong identity within many UK active sports, notably mountain biking,[6] surfing and skateboarding, and has sponsored a number of athletes in these disciplines.[7]

It has made a number of special edition products associated with the Howies brand, notably with Curtis Bikes who continue to offer Howies blue as a standard colour option on many of their bikes. The company is particularly well known for its T-shirt designs, notably the classic logo design as well as 9 bikes, CCTV, Life*, Blood Donor and Home Work. The Howies name is often written in lowercase - the company's preferred style.

History

Howies was founded by Clare and David Hieatt in 1995. The name "Howies" is derived from Clare's maiden name of "Howells".[4][8] Howies first marketing and team manager was Jeff Boardman 1996 - 2001. Branding expert Mark Simmons was managing director from 1999 to 2001. The company relocated from London to Wales in 2001[9][10] and the company's first proper mail order catalogue is produced.[10]

In 2003, Levi Strauss & Co. threatened to sue Howies over the placement of a logo bearing tab on the rear right buttock pocket of their jeans. The Howies Tab is grey, the Levis Tab is Red.[11]

In 2011, the Hieatts sold the company to The Timberland Company, for £3.2m.[9][12][13] In November 2008, Howies was cited as the 6th most 'recession-proof' company in the UK.[14] In September 2009, David Hieatt, one of Howies' founders, mentioned on Twitter that he was due to leave the company at the end of October 2009.[15] In December 2011, Howies closed its London shop, which was situated on Carnaby Street.[16]

In January 2012, Howies' management team announced that they had purchased the company back and that Howies would continue to operate from Cardigan as an independent company.[17]

References
  1. "Howies - Info". Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  2. Daring to be different in a brand new way, The Guardian, 2004-05-29 Accessed on August 24, 2007.
  3. howies mixes fun with ecology, Financial Times, 2006-03-10 Accessed on August 29, 2007.
  4. "Feature.003 HOWIES" Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine, "STEAL-LIFE", January 2005. Accessed on August 23, 2007.
  5. howies Interview Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Issue 18, Singletrack Magazine, 2004-12-15. Accessed on August 23, 2007.
  6. Bicycling Staff (April 2012). "Below the Belt". No. 3, vol. 53. Hearst Publishing. Bicycling. pp. 102–103.
  7. Parrish, Nick (October 18, 2007). "Howies". AdAge. Crain Communications. Retrieved 13 June 2022. Howies ... got even more play on the backs of sponsored skateboarding, mountain bike and BMX teams.
  8. "howies - now more than just an escape route, Llwybro-Routes, Welsh Assembly Government's Department of Enterprise, Innovation and Networks". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  9. Timberland buys 'green' company Archived 2019-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News Online, 2007-02-13 Accessed on August 24, 2007.
  10. howies, Our History Archived 2007-08-28 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed on August 23, 2007.
  11. David v Goliath battle as Welsh jeans company tells Levi's to butt out Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, 2003-05-03
  12. Timberland buys howies, Inteletex Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, 2006-12-05 Accessed on August 24, 2007.
  13. "How a Welsh jeans firm became a cult global brand". Hiut Denim Co. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  14. Stores must up their game to beat recession Archived 2011-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, 2008-11-03.
  15. @davidhieatt (17 September 2009). "Glad do lectures is done now. Gives me time to have a think about what I will do after I leave howies at end of Oct" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. howies – a small independent, ethically minded store forced to close London Store Archived 2012-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, 2011-12-17.
  17. "On Our Own Two Feet" a howies blog post Archived 2012-01-08 at the Wayback Machine, 2012-01-06.
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