You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Business takes off but local manufacturer cannot meet demand created by said blokes.
Pretty sure this bit was disputed by the factory owner in his "open letter" ?
I have a pair of Trousers from the kickstarter. They have seen me through rain, wind, snow and sun. They have cycled, climbed, gardened, diy'd, and been to posh meetings. They are magnificent Trousers, the best I've ever had. They are the only Trousers I have ever given thought to or felt moved to comment on. Thank you Ed and Brant for having the balls and vision to do this.
And the people that actually made them?
@mitsumo - why not buy your boots direct from the manufacturer, William Lennon? Cut out the middle man - as advocated by one of the founders in an earlier life before he reinvented himself.
The choice of company name and promotion of heritage/provenance never rang true.
Saving 'trousertown' with a narrow range of niche products and a self-limiting customer base never struck me as a long-term success.
Promoting a hand made product while striving for volume will lead to either quality compromises or delivery failures.
One of the self-styled 'trousermen' has a track record of starting something interesting but lacking the long term interest/commitment to make it into a long term success; ah well, I'm bored so I'll move onto something else - ad nauseam.
@rorschach - it wasn't a marketing strategy for a local manufacturing firm. It's a chancer and his mate spinning a yarn about 'local' to make £ by flogging a concept - or conceit- with no evident long-term plan.
Did they use kickstarter because they could not develop a convincing business plan to take to a bank?
A bank would ask searching questions covering funding, investors, market, competitive analysis (swot etc), manufacturing, usp, pricing & marketing strategies, branding & brand extension.....for starters.
None of that happens with kickstarter.
If you want 'proper' trousers, go to a 'proper' tailor.
I have a pair of Trousers from the kickstarter. They have seen me through rain, wind, snow and sun. They have cycled, climbed, gardened, diy'd, and been to posh meetings. They are magnificent Trousers, the best I've ever had. They are the only Trousers I have ever given thought to or felt moved to comment on. Thank you Ed and Brant for having the balls and vision to do this.
This is comedy gold.
It was meant to be funny though, right?
scandal42 - MemberI have a pair of Trousers from the kickstarter. They have seen me through rain, wind, snow and sun. They have cycled, climbed, gardened, diy'd, and been to posh meetings. They are magnificent Trousers, the best I've ever had. They are the only Trousers I have ever given thought to or felt moved to comment on. Thank you Ed and Brant for having the balls and vision to do this.
This is comedy gold.
It was meant to be funny though, right?
Sadly I think the chap is earnest. Deluded and ready to drink the cool aid again. 😀
In other news.
The Manchester Evening News isn’t printed in Manchester.
Walkers Crisps are delivered in lorries.
Foxes Glacier Mints do not contain any bits of fox or glacier.
Ben and Jerry don’t make ice cream.
Frankie & Benny aren’t actually real people.
And in other news Cathedral City Cheddar isn't made in Cheddar, nor is it made in a city, with or without a cathedral!
(Of the two nearest cities, only one has a cathedral anyway).
However, the brands original owners were based in Wells, which does.
Thus supplying an exact example of the same situation, only the cheese is now listed as 10th most trusted British brand, giving HebTroCo something to aspire to.
you see cathedral city conjures up an image of an entire city made of cathedrals.....im sad to find the place does not exist and should not be telling the world they make cheddar
only the cheese is now listed as 10th most trusted British brand, giving HebTroCo something to aspire
There is plenty of cheese in a pair of of hebtroco's don't you worry
Agree that Sturmeyarcher appears deluded.
Neither moleskin nor cords would have been acceptable in any 'posh meeting' I've ever attended; that may say more about me than anything else.
Is sturmey a current or past PX employee???
They have cycled, climbed, gardened, diy'd, and been to posh meetings.
Surely not in that order?
The board members wouldn't allow such outdoor exposure, its a sign of a worker.
Different trousers per activity I'd guess.
Cougar and Drac, too.Still, you look after your mates, don't you?
I don't know if that's serious or a troll.
1) I've made a handful of comments on a 20+ page thread. That's hardly "so active on a thread."
2) They aren't "my mates," I don't know the first thing about either Brant or Ed or their company. My comments on the thread previously were to try to discourage a smear campaign based purely on conjecture, as I would for anyone on STW because it's the right thing to do.
3) There hasn't been any official STW mandate on anything to do with this. If anything I've already spoken out of turn and said more than I should.
4) I'm frankly ****ing offended that a long-serving user would genuinely think that I'd be biased in such a manner, and I don't offend easily. If I was being coerced into toeing a corporate line then I'd walk away from the forum. That's a shitty accusation IMHO. From Day One as a moderator I've strived for transparency.
And when I say "offended," what I mean is "royally ****ing pissed off."
Cougar; pages 1 - 14 were posted upto 5 months ago.
The current frothy activity started 6 days ago and in the 6 pages since then you have been more active than usual which means......nothing; just saying.
People are crackers.
Go read ethical consumer and buy something with a way more questionable provenance.
The pedantry on here can be solved by not buying or buying the product.
I think cougar protests too much.
He's hiding something!
In his trousers?He's hiding something!
And wait until Brussels hears about this, we won't be able to call them trousers unless they are from Hebden
https://www.retaildetail.eu/en/news/food/eu-bans-soy-milk-and-tofu-butter
dazh - Member
This has rapidly become the silliest thread on here. Who knew that the manufacture and sale of moleskin trousers could be so polarising and arouse such passions?
You haven't been around here long have you? The only thing that could make this more of a STW slag-fest would be if Brant and Ed had parked their company van outside someone's house and gone on holiday to Bognor for a month. Or if they'd planted giant dahlias along their property boundary before having an affair with someone called Louise.
He's hiding something!
In his trousers?
I say Brant and Ed slipped him a bung, probably a business of pedigree Yorkshire ferrets in this case.
Cougar - I jest.
In defence of the mods, I'm seeing a lot of people giving HebTroCo a good slagging and not getting modded (myself included). I don't know what the libellous comments refer to but I have noticed a lack of links to Richard Pickles of Shorties facebook page where his open letter was published. There are clearly two sides to this story and I don't think it's unfair to suggest they should be given equal airtime given that they are equally as liable to libel given the accusations each side is making (in fact I'd say HebTroCo is worse as it implies bad workmanship as opposed to just bad business practice).
One of those on one side you have the Brant fan boys and those who have known him for decades to whom he can do no wrong/ they look out for him/they defend a mate.
on the other side those who like people who stick to their word and are not just about social media hype/ marketing and selling.
Guess which one I am 😛
Clearly they made a big thing about trouser town, clearly they have not lived up to that "aspiration"
Clearly we are free to judge them on this.
we all do this [ and i dont like dissing folk for looking after their mates tbh as we all do this]...you would know this if you had any 😉Still, you look after your mates, don't you?
To be fair, Junky. There are some of us in the middle throwing poo at both sides.
Seems sad that they had a fallout with their local supplier that couldn't be resolved privately and amicably.
But look on the bright side, they haven't gone full vulpine.
Pedant alert Cougar, it's striven not strived.
I don't think I've ever seen Mark so active on a thread.
Really?
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/marks-top-secret-bike-trip?view=all
[quote=Jamie ]To be fair, Junky. There are some of us in the middle throwing poo at both sides.
I salute your neutrality if not your aim 😉
For me there are two issues in Trousergate.
Firstly saving Trousertown. I liked it. Never going to make me part with $150 for a pair of jeans, but I liked the idea of keeping it local, keeping the tradition going. Do you know, I think if it were just going to be pocket money. A little part time enterprise, it still would be. (Opinion not fact for the litigious)
Secondly is social media. Live by the sword, die by the sword sums up my opinion.
Again, I think it's jealousy on here, 2 blokes making a go of a new business, loving what they're doing. Penned in 9-5ers stuck in a rut don't like it, start getting on their high horses because they're trapped in a vicious circle and want anyone who dares to buck the norm fail. Jealous.
Nice bit of psychoanalysis but way off the market.
I've dipped in and out of this thread but not really kept up. Anyone fancy providing a Twitter style summary?
Critically, I need to know if I should be angry with anyone and also if I should be buying HeTroCo trousers or not.
summary?
Brant & Eds ethos has been a little slack, which has struck a cord or two on here.
I've never understood thisLive by the sword, die by the sword
If your the guy slagging folks off and it comes back to bite you then sure
But this falls more into
Folks who are incensed on others behalf even though they don't have a dog in the race.
This is almost as good as the keyrings thread
Dunno about that, but people are definitely making mountains out of something.A mention of a mole would have got full marks
This is almost as good as the keyrings thread
They're now selling keyrings for £150 as well?
Cougar - Moderator
And when I say "offended," what I mean is "royally **** pissed off."
You're not kidding, I've just read what you wrote in the Premier Invite only forum.... 😯
As someone who lives up the valley in Todmorden, I never cease to be amazed at the potential for trouble-causing that anything to do with Hebden Bridge posesses. If I were a budding entrepreneur or business type, I'd be steering well clear of anything to with the place in my brand/marketing.
Cougar; pages 1 - 14 were posted upto 5 months ago.
The current frothy activity started 6 days ago and in the 6 pages since then you have been more active than usual which means......nothing; just saying.
It's simple. Cougar became active on the thread as did myself as this thread came back to life again after we deleted another Trousergate thread due to some very bold well lies by some members. These lies were potentially libellous so the thread was pulled to avoid harm to STW not Hebtroco. When this thread sprung to life Cougar, myself and other mods monitored it and try to stop people from posting more libellous comments. Mark posts a few times too as we occasionally asked him for advice as well as he was trying to monitor too. As Mark was at Mayhem it made it very difficult for him so the mods had to be more active. Add to that you're a pretty low activist user and only posted on a few threads in the last week or so your perception is screwed.
Do I know Brant and Ed? Yes I do. Well enough to meet up for them for a coffee and beer if I was down that way as I've socialised and friends with a group of people they socialise and are friendly with too for 15 years now. It was difficult for me not to post too much as Brant messaged me a few times with what was actually going on.
So are we active on this thread to look after mates? Well yes but STW mates not Hebtroco.
My 2p
1) I'm surprised the thread is still open - if I was a mod/Mark I'd have shut discussion of hebtroco down.
2) Moderators on here try their best to be, errm, moderate. I know none of them (that I know of) but they've always struck me as trying to do the best for the forum as a whole rather than toeing soem corporate line laid down by Mark.
3) As Drac said - moderators being active on a heavily moderated thread is hardly a surprise. If they weren't posting but just removing posts people would wonder what was going on and criticise them for that.
Looking at this from another angle, if you setup a company with a single supplier, but as a result of growth in sales/product range that supplier is no longer appropriate, what do you do? Sounds like most of the complainants here expect HebTroCo to just forget about growth and new products, and just subsidise their original supplier?
Add to that you're a pretty low activist user and only posted on a few threads in the last week or so your perception is screwed.
That's a bit low, and a few times now I've seen references to members who don't post all that often as if them, their opinions and posts ain't worth much.
If you want to make this forum exclusive for the handful of 'regulars' who seem to post something every 5mins then go ahead, just make it clear so the rest of us know.
I doubt a mate would sue a mate so the chances of Brant/Ed actually suing Mark, over someones elses comments, is pretty low.These lies were potentially libellous so the thread was pulled to avoid harm to STW not Hebtroco
When someone says something on twitter or FB they get personally sued so what is the difference with STW ? this is a genuine question btw as i do not know nor understand the legal distinction here though its an area I dont know very much about so happy to be educated by the facts.
I also agree the mods are going to get bashed whatever happens and i am not that interested in that - FWIW i dont think its inherently wrong to defend mates and we all do it [ or we should].
Sounds like most of the complainants here expect HebTroCo to just forget about growth and new products, and just subsidise their original supplier?
Did they not set up the company to save trousertown?
Looking at this from another angle, if you setup a company with a single supplier, but as a result of growth in sales/product range that supplier is no longer appropriate, what do you do? Sounds like most of the complainants here expect HebTroCo to just forget about growth and new products, and just subsidise their original supplier?
<ethical mode on> given the supplier was instrumental in providing the expertise needed to develop the product / business in the first place, my first instinct would be to pay it back by working with them to enable them to invest sufficiently so they expand capacity and capability to be able to do it.
But there are many reasons why that may not work - capacity and capability can't be turned off and on with a switch, the cash flow and profit margins needed to sustain reinvestment are different, and you could have a situation where if the bottom falls out of the market the supplier now has a bigger problem because they now have a factory twice the size to try and fill.
And who knows how / if those discussions went between the supplier and Hebtroco, all we have are the two alternative and inevitably biased views.
- if I was a mod/Mark I'd have shut discussion of hebtroco down.
Why?
[...]which has struck a cord[...]
Subtle- like it!
That's a bit low, and a few times now I've seen references to members who don't post all that often as if them, their opinions and posts ain't worth much.If you want to make this forum exclusive for the handful of 'regulars' who seem to post something every 5mins then go ahead, just make it clear so the rest of us know.
How is that low?
I've pointed out that he may have missed how active mods are on other threads if he'd read more, that's all.
He opinion is welcome but his perception was wrong.
Dear me.
[i]Why? [/i]
because it's a moderation nightmare of conjecture, name calling and 'people stood in the middle throwing poo at both sides' (winky-smiley-face).
Not for legal reasons or anythign like that.
running a (successful) business involves making a lot of tricky decisions, and although with hindsight the outcome may be obvious, often you just have to go with your best judgment. I wonder how many of the detractors on here have run their own business? It isn't easy and sometimes you get it wrong (generalising rather than being specific in this instance!)
The counter to this argument is that for a successful, growing business it's madness to put all your eggs in one basket with a single supplier, as any disaster or falling out with that supplier would ruin you! It [i]sounds[/i] from the HTC statement like they first tried to split production between the two factories, which IMO is fair & also sensible. Possibly a different solution would've been to have each factory make different products entirely rather than standardise the same product between the two.given the supplier was instrumental in providing the expertise needed to develop the product / business in the first place, my first instinct would be to pay it back by working with them to enable them to invest sufficiently so they expand capacity and capability to be able to do it.
Whilst I agree that the company founding (and initial social media carpet bombing) did seem to be all about resurrecting HB, if the original factory owner has shit the bed (which is what it sounds like from the social media post) there's not really anything HTC can do except try to make the best of it from now on!
Do I know Brant and Ed? Yes I do.
I don't. (Is "Ed" Ed Oxley? In which case I've met him briefly, but wouldn't go as far as to say I knew him.)
1) I'm surprised the thread is still open - if I was a mod/Mark I'd have shut discussion of hebtroco down.2) Moderators on here try their best to be, errm, moderate. I know none of them (that I know of) but they've always struck me as trying to do the best for the forum as a whole rather than toeing soem corporate line laid down by Mark.
These comments are kind of two sides of the same coin. The only "corporate line" I've ever been given is not to do anything which would actively harm STW (i.e. we've never been mandated to big up either the site, its sponsors or its "friends").
We don't generally censor discussion - and as I've said before, I wouldn't be doing this role if we had to act as censors for opinion someone else disagrees with - but in this particular situation we had to be a little cautious in case the whole thing went legal. STW is jointly liable for the forum content (as a publisher) and if someone states something as fact which is untrue then it potentially could be libellous.
Drac - in your role as moderator I object to you saying that my perception is screwed; can you explain what you mean?
My level of activity - as measured by number of posts is irrelevant; I post when a subject interests me and I have something to say.
You appear to assume some correlation between how much I post and how much I read other threads.
Fact - i scan each forum a couple of times daily and am aware of the frequency of mod posts.
You want him to explain again what he meant?can you explain what you mean?
Seems a pretty clear explanation to me.
I am sure he is sorry he misunderestimated your dedication to the forum and your knowledge base
No wonder they are mainly anonymous 🙄
FWIW i suspect the moderators prefer the occasional poster to the usual suspects as the former generate [s]less[/s] fewer* work for them - i say work but its volunteering
* for flashy 😉
Drac - in your role as moderator I object to you saying that my perception is screwed; can you explain what you mean?
Ok.
1) Don't accuse mods of looking after mates as they doesn't happen.
2) Saying we active more on this thread as we we are mates with Brant and Ed is wrong
3) You may scan threads but that clearly means you misshow active Cougar especially is on many other threads, I go through spates as it depends if I'm working or not. So your perception is wrong.
The counter to this argument is that for a successful, growing business it's madness to put all your eggs in one basket with a single supplier, as any disaster or falling out with that supplier would ruin you!
My counter to your counter is what we used to call the [redacted in case it's libellous but think major FMCG company] protocol.
They'd award you business that would use a substantial proportion of your capacity for a product line. Because it filled your plant, you were glad of it but in turn you couldn't do some other pieces of small business at higher margin and they'd go to other suppliers and strike a relationship there.
Then the next year - 'we've decided to award the volume to you again but we need a 2% saving from all our suppliers.....'
and the year after.....
and the year after.....
and then in the end you could barely afford to do the business because margins got so squeezed, but you couldn't afford not to because without the volume, the plant was barely viable.
Used to be one of the banes of my life, when KAM's would be being rewarded for retaining the business for another year with 'only' a 2% concession while i watched the plant capacity sucked up again at an ever lower contribution.
^^^ quite, although there is an important distinction between (small) businesses who try to behave ethically and, er, everyone else 🙂
I was reminded of this when hebtroco fired up, surely not the only person.
Looks like they're going in different directions, one having changed their goals...
Cardigan is a small town of 4,000 good people. 400 of them used to make jeans. They made 35,000 pairs a week. For three decades.
Then one day the factory closed. It left town. But all that skill and knowhow remained. Without any way of showing the world what they could do.
That’s why we have started The Hiut Denim Company. To bring manufacturing back home. To use all that skill on our doorstep. And to breathe new life into our town.
As one of the Grand Masters said to me when I was interviewing: “This is what I know how to do. This is what I do best.” I just sat there thinking I have to make this work.
So yes, our town is going to make jeans again.
Here goes.
Drac
1. I did not accuse anyone of anything; specifically, I did not accuse Cougar of looking after mates.
2. I did not say you were more active on this thread because you may be mates with the trousermen.
3. I am aware that Cougar is an active moderator; my perception is neither screwed nor skewed.
Just to self-correct, I scan the forums and read those threads which are of interest.
Junkyard - what are you on about?
0/10 for attempted sarcasm.
It's there business, they can do what they want, either way good on them for doing something.
I didn't realise they outsourced the manufacture though, this has highlighted that, I presumed from all of the videos etc. that they had started to make trousers again in HB & employed some people. The video looked like they were re-opening a mill. I liked the idea and was about to buy some I kinda bought into that idea, now I'm not so sure but that's business no need to get grumpy and all 'he said, she said'
yes, Cardigan's my hometown, so I thought of them too.
One company is restarting a factory & employing people as I understand it, the other's are placing orders with existing factories. Not saying that's wrong, it's just different.
£175 for a belt?
😆
Not sure why people are so keen to publicize this company. Either you want some *overpriced troos or you don't.
*Visit your local tailor to put things in perspective.
Drac
1. I did not accuse anyone of anything; specifically, I did not accuse Cougar of looking after mates.
2. I did not say you were more active on this thread because you may be mates with the trousermen.
3. I am aware that Cougar is an active moderator; my perception is neither screwed nor skewed.
Oops! I owe you an apology I completely misread who posted what and now i luck like a ****.
Sorry about that. 😳
£175 for a belt?
Yes, but check out the hot chick who makes them........ 8)
I'm told Yorkshire tea is from India ..... WTAF
Well...... The actual leaves may be from India but they are blended in Harrogate, Yorkshire, so the actual product comes from there. It's not Yorkshire tea before it comes to Yorkshire.
As for the trousers I do think it's a bit naughty to push the whole saving trouser town thing only to not save it any more when there's more money over the hill.
Brant's a great marketing man and a very shrewd self promoter. He's been the same since the Zak Tempest days. He's also a business man in the 'making lots of money' sense and is clearly happy to use what is necessary to further his own personal success. Some will applaud this, some will absolutely not.
Would I buy some? Thought about it before but have now been put off as the whole thing leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth.
I'm told Yorkshire tea is from India
Lies I tell thee.
Have you not visited the world famous plantations of Keighley?
I'm told Yorkshire tea is from India
Look on the [url= https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/about-us/what-we-do ]Yorkshire Tea site [/url]- they are quite clear about where their tea comes from (and it's not just India) and they have never made claims that the tea is grown in Yorkshire which is a very different proposition to that of the HBTC.
Well done them on making it such a success that this issue has arisen, great to see.
But their USP was #savingtrousertown, and that factory or mill was an integral part of what they did in their first 12 months.
Just seems that they only changed the website text and marketing spiel once forced to do so.
And I do think there's an element of 'live by the sword and die by the sword' - if they are happy to use this thread to help get their business off the ground then I think they should come on here and be a bit more open and honest when the muck starts getting flung.
Wish them all the best for the future, as it's a great venture, though as chestrockwell said maybe it does leave a slightly sour taste in the mouth.
But, yes, only STW would give a sh*t about all this!! 😀
Look on the Yorkshire Tea site ...
and I thought it was all about saving the once great "Tea Town" aka Hebden Bridge....
Zak Tempest
Wasn't he the guy who bought Jimmy Saville's bikes?
😈
In amongst the debates about who's debating what, has anyone managed to establish definitively whether or not HTC were still presenting their web presence as "saviours of Trouser town, trousers made in Hebden Bridge" after they'd arranged for production elsewhere?
And I don't care about stock levels, lead times etc. - to me, if they had signed an order for production of trousers from outside Hebden Bridge, at that point they should have modified their marketing message. If it doesn't stray into areas of legal concern, I'd go so far as to say that if they didn't, then they were being dishonest.
If they did change the message, then t.b.h. fair enough imho. We can all think it's a shame, but from what I've read earlier in the thread it seems that Brant and Ed share that sentiment too. But they've still got a business to run / develop and they're making the best of it.
Businesses change:
VolksWagen means "people's car" and the original USP was cheap cars for the masses. Now it's a semi-premium brand.
ASOS originally stood for "As Seen On Screen" and their USP was supplying you with the sunglasses that you'd seen Brad Pitt wearing in his latest movie. They don't do that any more.
HTC was set up to make trousers in Hebden Bridge. But that hasn't worked out, so now they're doing something a bit different.
Objecting to them doing that seems to me about as appropriate as complaining that Carphone Warehouse don't sell carphones any more.
After reading all this I'm about to buy a pair of their moleskins.
[quote=edlong ]HTC was set up to make trousers in Hebden Bridge.
Do the trousers all have pockets large enough for their phones?
of 4,000 good people. 400 of them used to make jeans.
I have to confess, that's not the garment I was expecting.
After reading all this I'm about to buy a pair of their moleskins.
Are you getting a belt to go with them though?? I bet they're really made by somebody else and they just got a model in for the photos................
[i]I bet they're really made by somebody else and they just got a model in for the photos[/i]
how much?
Tommy making a belt
cant get it to embed soz!
Objecting to them doing that seems to me about as appropriate as complaining that Carphone Warehouse don't sell carphones any more.
But Carphone Warehouse (like Yorkshire Tea) don't make the claims that HBTC do/did, theirs are simply business names.
There is nothing wrong with being called Hebden Bridge Trouser Company then selling trousers from all over the globe *unless* the central message of the brand is that they actually make the trousers in Bridge. Which is what they were doing.
There is nothing wrong with being called Hebden Bridge Trouser Company then selling trousers from all over the globe *unless* the central message of the brand is that they actually make the trousers in Bridge. Which is what they were doing.
Their name is Hebtroco.
Their name is Hebtroco.
That's what he said.
We'll know when they've really sold out as they will be available on Sportpursuit at 50% off.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hebtroco/properly-made-british-trousers-with-a-lifetime-gua
We wear jeans. Jeans are great. But we wanted something more. Something that is just as hard wearing but with a bit more style, that can be smart or casual. And we found it right here, in Hebden Bridge -AKA Trouser Town.
Back in the 1800s Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire was known as Trouser Town. Back then it was producing twenty thousand pairs a week.Today, there's just one factory remaining. With six members of staff, working a three day week, producing 176 trousers a week. Amazing staff making incredible trousers. Yes, trousers can be incredible. They are the highest specification trousers around, made for some of the most exclusive brands and most prominent public figures in the world.
HebTroCo are aiming to get the town known once again for what it was once so famous for. We want to continue and reinvigorate the manufacturing of trousers in Hebden Bridge and ensure that the tradition remains unbroken.
....
The HebTroCo aims to bring a trouser brand back to Hebden Bridge. We communicate and operate in modern 21st century ways but we keep traditional manufacturing techniques, allowing the factories and staff to keep working and growing.We ship directly to you to keep overheads down. No high street rent or glitzy offices. Just brilliant trousers made in Trouser Town by skilled staff, sold directly to you
I see no way of arguing that they did not use making trousers in trouser town part of their pitch/USP.