Howies is a clothing company based in west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The company was founded in 1995 and produces eco-friendly T-shirts, jeans and sportswear, with the aim of having ethically correct practices. Howies use natural fabrics as alternatives to petrochemical-derived modern fabrics, including

organic cotton Organic cotton is generally defined as cotton that is grown organically in subtropical countries such as India, Turkey, China, and parts of the USA from non-genetically modified plants, and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals ...

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

wool and recycled cotton."Feature.003 HOWIES"
, "STEAL-LIFE", January 2005. Accessed on August 23, 2007.howies Interview
, Issue 18, Singletrack Magazine, 2004-12-15. Accessed on August 23, 2007. 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.

Brand

The Howies brand has a strong identity within many UK active sports, notably

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

and

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

, and has sponsored a number of athletes in these disciplines. 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". 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 London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 2001Timberland buys 'green' company
, ''

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

'', 2007-02-13 Accessed on August 24, 2007.howies, Our History
, Accessed on August 23, 2007. and the company's first proper mail order catalogue is produced. 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. In 2011, the Hieatts sold the company to

The Timberland Company Timberland LLC is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoor footwear, owned by VF Corporation and founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1952. The company also sells apparel and accessories including watches, eyewear, and leather goods. Tim ...

, for £3.2m. In November 2008, Howies was cited as the 6th most 'recession-proof' company in the UK. 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. In December 2011, Howies closed its London shop, which was situated on

Carnaby Street Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion boutiques. Stre ...

. 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."On Our Own Two Feet" a howies blog post
, 2012-01-06.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.howies.co.uk Companies based in Ceredigion Clothing companies of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1995 Welsh brands 1995 establishments in Wales