‘Our town is making jeans again’: meet the firm reviving jobs and skills in Wales
In the first article in a series on high end British manufacturing, we visit the Hiut Denim factory in Cardigan Worn on the streets of London’s Soho, San Francisco or Sydney, every pair of high-end jeans made by Hiut Denim comes from the rather unlikely location of a small coastal town in west Wales. Cardigan, with a population of just 4,200, has a proud history of denim production and was once…
In Cardigan, a small coastal town in west Wales, a denim factory is reviving high-end manufacturing and creating jobs. Hiut Denim, founded by David and Clare Hieatt in 2011, aims to train skilled craftspeople and bring back denim production to the town. The factory employs 20 people and produces 120 pairs of jeans per week, compared to the 35,000 pairs previously made by the Dewhirst factory when it was at its peak.
Factory manager Elin Evans, who has over 50 years of experience in the trade, returned to her hometown after being given the opportunity to move abroad. Hiut's product is made from 17 pieces of fabric, with hand-stitched details and a "made in Wales" label. The jeans, priced at around £245 for men and £350 for women, have been endorsed by celebrities like Ant and Dec and the Duchess of Sussex.
The German von Loeper family took over the company in 2025, committing to keeping manufacturing in Cardigan despite logistical challenges.
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