Ruth Alice Rands, Founder of HERD
@herdwear
Ruth of @herdwear
REV On Air: The Regenerative Knitwear Revolution with Ruth Alice Rands of HERD
This podcast episode is a part of the REV x DIRT Charity Regenerative Podcast Series!
In the fifth episode of our regenerative podcast series in collaboration with DIRT Charity, we speak to the wonderful Ruth Alice Rands, co-founder of HERD Knitwear. HERD is well known and loved by the Rêve team and many of our customers but do we really know what it takes to build a brand with such high standards for animal welfare, wool quality and in turn the knitwear that connects the customer right back to it’s roots? Ruth talks us through the reality of the knitwear industry from New Zealand shipping wool to China, to Yorkshire’s history as the British home of wool. This podcast episode is full of insights that would inspire anyone to seek out more regenerative wool alternatives and we love how it takes us on a journey then connects us back to the pieces we all know and love by this pioneering brand.
This Podcast episode is brought to you by our friends at
“Luxury used to be associated with craft, it used to be associated with time and a personal approach to how things were made and often had someone’s name on the door. You know, the Saville Row approach. That tailor, that name of that person who’s standing there accountable for what they’re making, and this idea of craft and quality and time I think we have lost in the definition of luxury, and luxury has become about a look and an identity and that’s not what it used to be.”
Ruth Alice Rands
About HERD:
HERD is a mindset. Their philosophy goes beyond sustainability to have a positive impact on the environment and those they work with. Rooted in profound respect for the land and soil, they have a place-based materials-first approach. It’s where elegant age-old tradition meets uncompromising planetary values, how they make modern heirlooms with heritage sensibilities.
They honour native locality, collaborating with craftspeople that have honed expertise in their trades over generations. Their unique approach strengthens existing ecosystems, creating positive and impactful structure, gently building webs of connection – and mutual support – that benefit stakeholders at every stage of the process. HERD is proof that wasteful transportation in the name of fashion can be eclipsed; a blueprint for the future.
By sourcing fibres directly from a collective of farmers and harvesters they maintain control of creating superior wool and fabric. Their signature yarn is made from 100% Bluefaced Leicester fleeces within just 150 miles of the farms in Yorkshire, North West England, where the climate provides perfect conditions and abundant rich green grass. The result rivals cashmere in quality.
“People come to Herd because they care about animals a lot. They care about made in the UK, because they care about made locally. It doesn’t really matter in a way where you come to it from, like what your main concern is, what you most care about, they all lead to the same point of taking plastics out of our clothing, of farming in a way that farms in harmony with the earth and designing circularity in our products from the beginning so that we can be responsible as designers, as brands, as manufacturers for the end of life of the product.”
Ruth Alice Rands
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Fashion
HERD
Eccleston Cardigan in Ecru & Coral Mouline
£625
Fashion
HERD
Eccleston Jumper in Peat & Sloe Mouline
£445
Fashion
HERD
Fleetwood Jumper in Sloe with Mist & Ecru
£495
Fashion
HERD
Fleetwood Cardigan in Moss with Ecru & Peat
£595
Fashion
HERD
Brampton Cardigan in Ecru
£395
Bottoms
HERD
Brampton Trousers in Peat
£295
Camisoles and Tank Tops
HERD
Wyre Vest in Mist
£195
Accessories
HERD
Eccleston Scarf in Ecru & Coral Mouline
£245
Accessories
HERD
Eccleston Hat in Ecru & Coral Mouline
£145
