What is Harris Tweed? The 1993 Act, the Orb Mark and the handwoven rule

Harris Tweed is a tweed that, under a 1993 Act of Parliament, must be handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun there. Cloth that passes inspection carries the Orb Mark. Anything else may be tweed, but it is not Harris Tweed.

The legal definition

Section 7 of the Harris Tweed Act 1993 says Harris Tweed "means a tweed which" has been "handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides." The section adds that the tweed must also have whatever further characteristics the trade mark regulations require, which is how the Act ties itself to the certification mark.

The Harris Tweed Authority, created by section 3 of the Act, is charged with safeguarding the standard and reputation of the cloth and taking "such steps as are practicable" to make sure material that does not meet the definition is not represented as Harris Tweed. It must keep its seat in the Outer Hebrides. The Authority's own FAQ phrases the rule as tweed produced from "100% pure new wool" dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides and woven by hand in islanders' homes, and calls Harris Tweed "the only fabric in the world to have its own Act of Parliament." That last claim is the Authority's, and we have not found an independent check of it.

Where the name came from

According to the Authority's history page, islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra wove cloth for their own use and for local markets until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1846, Lady Dunmore, widow of the Earl of Dunmore, had the clan tartan replicated in tweed by Harris weavers and began marketing it to wealthy friends. That, the Authority says, was the start of the industry.

By 1903 to 1906 carding and spinning mills were being built on Lewis. A meeting in Stornoway in 1906 discussed inspecting the cloth and giving passed lengths a certifying stamp. The Harris Tweed Association was formed in 1909 to register the Orb and Maltese Cross as a trademark. It was registered in 1910 and stamping began in 1911.

In 1934 the definition changed to allow island mill-spun yarn in addition to handspun, and the Authority says stamped yardage rose tenfold, peaking at 7.6 million yards in 1966. The 1993 Act then made the definition statutory, and the Harris Tweed Authority took over from the Association.

The Orb Mark and what it certifies

The Orb is, in the Authority's words on its FAQ, "a registered Certification Mark, not a logo." Wikipedia says that every 50 meters of cloth is checked by an inspector from the Authority before being stamped by hand with the Orb Mark. So the mark is applied to the cloth, after inspection, and not to the finished garment.

That distinction matters when you shop. The Authority says it does not produce, sell or repair Harris Tweed products, and that when a Harris Tweed item is faulty, the fault is often in another component such as a zip or leather trim. It tells owners to go to the maker or the retailer. It also cannot give provenance for an individual jacket, and suggests looking for a maker's mark. What you can be assured of, it says, is that the cloth itself was handwoven by a weaver in the Outer Hebrides. The FAQ adds that the serial number on a Harris Tweed jacket label was once an internal tracking device for the industry, applied after the garment was made, so it is not a record of the jacket's age or origin.

How much is made now

The most recent production figure we could verify is dated. Wikipedia reports that in 2012 the weavers and mills produced one million meters of Harris Tweed, compared with 450,000 meters in 2009. At roughly 0.91 meters to the yard, the 1966 peak of 7.6 million yards is about 6.9 million meters, so by our arithmetic the 2012 figure was around 14% of the peak. We found no newer figure from an official source, so we do not give one.

Who uses it

Wikipedia lists menswear and retail names that have used the cloth, among them Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom, Thomas Pink, J. Crew, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith and Primark, and footwear brands including Nike, Dr. Martens, Red Wing Shoes and Clarks. That is a historical list, not a current sourcing statement, and brands change suppliers. If a label matters to you, ask the maker whether the cloth carries the Orb Mark today.

Tweed also needs care like any wool. Our guide to how to wash wool covers the basics, and our explainer on the legal definition of recycled wool shows how different a statutory fiber definition looks in the United States.

Our take

Harris Tweed is one of the few fashion cloths whose definition is written into law, and the rule is concrete: handwoven, at home, in the Outer Hebrides, from wool dyed and spun there. We would buy it for the cloth and the certification, not for the "heritage" copy that surrounds it. We would skip any "Harris Tweed style" wording with no Orb Mark, and we would watch for production figures newer than 2012, which the industry should publish.