Keeping it local, stylish and sustainable in South Kilkenny

Anneliese Duffy of the Linen Shirt Company based in the Rower in South Kilkenny is a woman on a mission. Not only is she a talented designer, she wants to make clothes that are sustainable and to revive the Made in Ireland label so that Irish consumers can buy garments made locally again. As someone who grew up in the industry, clothing design and manufacturing is part of her DNA. 

She says, “As third generation designers, the love of our trade and craft are at the roots of our company’s story. Our mission today is to help re-invigorate the whole sector in Ireland from the ground up. The dream is that one day every person has the opportunity to own a piece of clothing in their wardrobe with Made in Ireland proudly stamped on the label.” 

Her tiny company currently employs only four people but she has ambitions to expand by launching a training programme next year that will see her company involved in providing training to people who want to work as machinists in the industry. 

Flooding in south Kilkenny this morning

Heavy rainfall overnight has caused the River Nore to flood in Bennettsbridge

To help her achieve her goals and to improve the sustainability of her business, Anneliese recently undertook a new programme created by the Design and Craft Council Ireland and the National College of Art and Design’s Creative Futures Academy, called Circular by Design. 

The inaugural programme explored how designers across a range of disciplines could create a circular business model. Anneliese’s company was one of 11 chosen who participated in the programme, learning how to implement sustainable changes to their business. 

Anneliese found  the course ‘invaluable’ and its themes very relevant to her business. It examined the urgent and unique opportunity brands have to create a just, circular business model and the critical role that design plays in enabling that transition. The course kicked off with an introductory lecture at NCAD and afterwards consisted of virtual sessions hosted by industry leaders such as experts from Adidas and sustainable Scandinavian brands. The programme covered all aspects of sustainability including technological initiatives such as recycling old fabrics into new ones, to give them a second life.  

The Kilkenny witch who still casts a spell 700 years on

The story of Alice Kyteler still fascinates Kilkenny City centuries after her accusations of heresy and witchcraft

As the creative process can sometimes be a lonely one, Anneliese found the cross-pollination of ideas amongst the attendees very stimulating and also enjoyable. She says, “It was inspiring to see what other people are doing and insightful to see what others are doing.”  

The Linen Shirt Company sources Irish fabric for their designs and makes all their production in County Kilkenny. This return to near-shoring as opposed to off-shoring is the way of the future, Anneliese believes. The education of customers about sustainability is also central to how she operates. She says the ‘buy less, buy better’ model is how consumers are moving and that natural fibres which she uses are a much better choice for the environment as they are biodegradable, unlike most synthetic fast fashion fabrics. 

She explains that her linen is much better for the environment: it is made in Ireland so doesn’t have huge air miles attached and that it takes 7 kilolitres of water to make a linen garment as opposed to 700 kilolitres for a cotton one. 

She believes, “Every tiny little change makes a difference. Little steps make a huge, huge difference.” 

Honesty and transparency are at the heart of the business; to this end she is going to pioneer a new initiative at the end of this year that will see a QR code on all her garments that when scanned will display information on the fabric, air miles to Ireland, who has made it and also how to care for it to ensure its longevity.

By being this transparent she hopes to be able to say: “This is what we stand for, this is who we are.”  

www://linenshirtcompany.ie/