If the Shoe Fits, Why Can't We Make It Here in Britain? ; Viewpoint

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Dear Editor, Excellent news in last week's Post that a Warwickshire firm, UK Gear, has developed a 1000-mile running shoe that has been endorsed by the British Army. So congratulations to them. This kind of thing is just what we need if the country is to power out of recession. Or is it? Sadly, I note the shoes are made in Vietnam and thus, presumably, shipped half way round the world before our squaddies can get into their stride. I have to ask is it really impossible to manufacture them in this country? We still do produce shoes, usually rather more upmarket than the usual imports, so where innovation and quality coincide, such as, for example, in the UK Gear product, it ought to be possible to be competitive with home manufacture.

Unless we as a country pursue a policy of import substitution (not, I hasten to add, through tarriffs), we cannot hope to provide all the jobs needed to keep employment levels down.

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If the Shoe Fits, Why Can't We Make It Here in Britain? ; Viewpoint

I suppose the answer lies in the ina...

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