Interesting little couple of web comments JH, which I wasn't aware of, but really nothing more than a commercial 'falling out' which has spilled out into the public domain? A bit childish if you ask me and I would have thought better of both of them if they had kept it to themselves - don't you? Re making stuff in this country, I think Cameron has touched on that quite correctly. (a) Raw materials cost too much for the quantities a 'cottage producer' would buy, (b) the hours spent on designing, testing and making things could never be charged correctly for, and (c) you would have to be very lucky to hit enough people to make it worth while and sell enough items. The answer - Alpkit! They are doing just that, but must have had to invest shed loads of cash, get it made in China and then have set the price point so low, that we can't resist it! I would bet they've got a warehouse full of stuff they will have to sell over the next 12 months to break even. Commercially, it has to be the only answer. Simply put the UK is just too expensive a country (commercial and domestic overheads) to produce small bespoke items in sadly. Frustrating, but realistic! A good mate of mine is in the large commercial tin industry (cans for food etc) and every week another small manufacturer of his closes down due to cheapers imports. They can't cut their cloth any tighter, rent, rates, salaries and paperwork make it nonviable. Why would a 'cottage industry' be any different? The attitude I was refering to was purely 'can do', but I'll have another listen and see if there's anymore reading between the lines that needs to be done.
To be fair it's not just this country that has these difficulties.
Go-Lite seem to be getting around things my sourcing heir manufacturing overseas. Not only is manufacturing cheaper but, presumably, it distribution becomes more flexible as well.
All of the main US companies now seem to manufacture in Asia. I guess the problem is people starting out. You have to have a reasonable number of trekkers to deal with close at hand. I guess that thru-hiking is such a thing in the US that this is a lot easier than it would be here.
Oh come on Beany, if you have a genuine complaint about something involving a very public activity, e.g., selling to the public, why shouldn't you go public. There's nothing at all childish about it. On the other hand I don't understand why lawyers are not involved. I'm sure if someone was improperly benefitting from something that was my intellectual property or my name was being improperly used for pecuniary advantage, that's the way I'd go.
You know what they say Macsen, if you 'assume' too much it'll make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'!
Any commercial relationship which falls apart and then splashes out into the public is no difference from watching a divorcing couply slag it out in the street. I.e. there's often more there than meets the eye and it would unwise to step in between them and take sides.
This is no different and apart from anything else when did ' a private commercial agreement' become 'a very public activity'? The only public part of it is the slanging match and it isn't doing either of the parties involved many favours.
Beany, making sacks could be at any level from a Berghaus type setup down to a person making one for themself, with many levels in between.
It would certainly be difficult to become Berghaus overnight. Given the skills and materials, there is nothing stopping an individual making a sack. The levels of commercilism between an individual and Berghaus have ever increasing difficulty.
"Why would a 'cottage industry' be any different?"
A cottage industry can have the advantage of very low overheads (homeworkers etc), flexibilty, quick response time, inovation etc.
For the answer I guess you'd have to ask the cottage industries in the States. Perhaps Bob C will interview a few of them.
Re materials. I can't believe materials are that big a proportion of a sacks cost that it would make that much difference. Compared to things like labour costs and overheads.
