SIX MILLION TROUSERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 July 1941, Page 6

SIX MILLION TROUSERS

BRITAIN’S ARMIES IN SPRING. Enough cloth to stretch from Yorkshire to New York, back to Yorkshire, and out to New* York again, is being woven for Britain's armies in the spring. It Avill be made into 5.000,000 blouses and 6.000,000 pairs of trousers. More trousers are needed because they wear out more quickly. Already the tailoring trade of Great Britain has/ turned out 12,500.000 blouses and 14,500.000 trousers, but the new effort is th’e largest single order given since the war began, and it is only an instalment of Avhat Avill be eventually required. Some 10,000 people are iaoav employed in preparing, spinning and weaving the 16,000,000 yards of serge alone. Almost the same length of lining Avifl also be needed by the 250 clothing contractors in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Avho are turning the material into complete battle dress. While these contracts, and a further order for 1,500,000 more Army greatcoats in the heavy cloth specially produced in Yorkshire, do put a certain strain upon the heavy sections of the woollen trade, there remains ample plant and personnel for the more usual cloths in demand overseas.

The contracts represent only six per cent of Britain's output of woollens and the normal needs at home are now strictly controlled. A constant supply of raw avool continues to reach Great Britain and, as for exports, a crosssection inquiry of the industry has just been completed showing that sinkings amount to no more than one twentieth of one per cent.