Where can I source totally 100% British made gardening tools?

nikkigrjs

In this Covid time I am wanting to support 'British made' above all else (as long as they are reliably built!) I know they will be more expensive due to our wages and taxes etc but Im happy to buy less, if I can buy the best and prevent more poverty in coming years. Does anyone have a reliable list of companies,or small forges etc??? I'm not looking for piecemeal with handles made uk, steel made Asia etc just 100% suppport for our totally British products. Also a totally British made hanging herb dryer. The last forge I bought from sourced theirs from China.....seemed a bit weird when having all the tools in a forge to still buy from China!

philippasmith2

Have you tried contacting the DTI or the British Industries Associations ?  They may at least be able to give you a pointer

Pete.8

When I read your post, Bulldog tools sprang to mind, but I understand that since 2013 the metal parts are forged in India then shipped to the UK.
I guess it's no longer economically viable to forge garden tools in the UK that can be sold at a competitive price, but I hope you can find somewhere that does.

BenCotto

I thought of Bulldog too but their forge is in India. However this company fulfils your brief, I think.

https://www.westsofeastdean.co.uk/gardening-range/

If you want a wheelbarrow or you want to eat outside, try here

https://www.made-to-last.co.uk/outdoors

This company’s products can be sourced on Amazon. Most of their range is for contractors but they make a few gardening tools.

https://richardcarterltd.co.uk/275-year-anniversary/

And another. They’re affiliated to Carters

https://www.mygardenspade.com/

pansyface

As a Sheffielder, I am ashamed to say that I don’t think any garden tools are 100% British. You could contact Burgon and Ball, founded way back in 1730, to see if they still keep the Steel City tradition going, but I wouldn’t put money on the quality of the steel these days.

Or you could contact these people, but again I couldn’t say anything about the quality.

https://www.handtoolssheffield.co.uk/

Pete.8

There are some leads you may wish to follow on this page-
http://www.fredshed.co.uk/forksandspades.htm
which also gives some info about UK made tools

PS Fred is a very helpful chap and has responded to emails I have sent in the past with very helpful info.

KT53

You may be able to find a company which manufactures in the UK but much of the steel used is probably imported.  I was watching a programme recently about the construction of the Queensferry crossing and was shocked to discover that all the bridge sections were manufactured in China and then shipped (literally) to Scotland.

amancalledgeorge

With the amount of energy needed to make steel I don't think it's particularly shocking that they imported those steel sections from China. It's a volume business and we live in a global world. There's really no environmental advantage in making steel locally either... can't treat it like a heritage business. 

nikkigrjs

Yes we do live in a great big global world but I'm an Aussie and we've sold off so many of our trademarks like Bonds and Drizabone that its too late to claw them back. We are now at the mercy of overseas standards with little we can do to keep them high. Shopping locally is easier to stand up and make a difference when workmanship becomes shoddy....and much easier to face to face the shop owner and have a good old fashioned conversation about standards......Britain will lose so much if we trade away everything and then have to accept whatever workmanship we get.......sorry to be having a  bit of a gripe but I've wasted so much money on chinese rubbish while online shopping during Covid. !!!!!

BenCotto

I think that it is quite a rose tinted view of global trade. Small scale local producers can only survive by operating in niche markets. I found a few of these companies for you. Do you have an opinion on what they’re offering? 

If you want value for money products you’ll have to accept you’ll be shopping in the global marketplace. If you don’t want rubbish goods then practise due diligence with your research.

philippasmith2

@nikkigrjs  I doubt you are the only one having a gripe ( see the Curmudgeon thread ) but unfortunately Britain has already lost much of it's industry.  Difficult to turn the clock back.  Whether we like it or not, it's the turn of other countries to be Top Dog and jump into any space they see is reasonably viable.  China is involved in a lot of Britain's infrastucture  ( as it is in Africa ) and that set up it is unlikely to change in the forseeable future. Brexit is unlikely to help matters altho that is just my personal opinion.
The concept of shopping locally, in many peoples minds, is different.  Support your local greengrocer, butcher, etc. but when shopping online, it's a different kettle of fish.  You want a product not available locally, you look online and there it is - not many will question where it comes from or whether some part of it is produced by a country whose standards you don't agree with -  and that is supposing you could even find out if you were sufficiently concerned. 
Your sentiments are to be applauded however.  Hope you at least manage to find what you want and perhaps an update may help others