A family-owned Scottish maker of cashmere, wool, tweed and knitwear, with mills in Elgin and Hawick and a shop on New Bond Street in London.
Johnstons of Elgin makes woven and knitted goods: Estate Tweeds, knitwear, scarves, blankets, woven accessories and tailoring cloth. It sells under its own name and also makes products for other well-known fashion brands. Its careers site describes it as "the only mill in the UK to take raw fibre and transform it each step of the way" into cashmere, wool and other natural fibre products. That means one company handles the whole journey from raw fibre to finished garment, which is rare in modern fashion. Wikipedia names Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Burberry among the luxury names it works with.
The business began in 1797 in Elgin, Scotland, founded by Alexander Johnston, and moved to Newmill beside the River Lossie, where it still stands. It is family owned, co-chaired by Neil and Jenny Urquhart, great-grandchildren of ES Harrison. We did not find a formal mission statement. The closest things are its stated commitments: it became a certified B Corporation in 2023, it is a founding member of the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, and it uses Responsible Wool Standard merino. It says it wants to "continue the artisanal expertise" needed to make its products, and it holds three royal warrants, for Estate Tweeds, Knitwear and Woven Accessories.
In the UK, the weaving mill is in Elgin in the north of Scotland and is described as vertically integrated, meaning most steps happen on one site. Its knitting mill is in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, where it bought Eastfield Mill in 1980 and uses Shima Seiki knitting machines. Its flagship shop opened on New Bond Street in London in 2015. The mills also welcome visitors, and its visitor pages list a Hawick site as well.
On culture, the company says it employs over 1,000 people and describes a close-knit, family-like atmosphere where people "support each other as a family". It says it is "committed to the long term in developing our people with skills" while using new technology and processes. Its careers page says over 25 per cent of staff are on leadership development programmes and over 10 per cent are on its Modern Apprenticeship programme. It also runs a Schools Interaction Programme and won the Investors in Young People Gold award in 2022. These are the company's own claims and have not been independently checked.
A mill and fashion business like this needs many kinds of people. There are weavers, knitters, dyers and finishers who work the machines, designers and product developers, quality checkers, engineers who keep the equipment running, buyers, sales and shop staff, and teams in marketing, finance and logistics. Pupils who enjoy textiles, design, technology, maths or business can all find a fit. The company's own careers site is the place to see the roles it currently lists.
Website: www.johnstonsofelgin.com
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