About Rowlinson
Established in 1935 and employee owned since 2015, Rowlinson is a leading UK supplier of schoolwear and corporatewear. In August 2002, we became the highest scoring Certified B Corp in the North of England and Scotland, and we’re ranked 1st in the UK, 2nd in Europe and 14th worldwide in the clothing and apparel sector. As the UK’s market-leading supplier of personalised school knitwear, we were acknowledged as the schoolwear industry’s Best Supplier of the Year in 2019. We also supply high quality knitwear for personalisation by corporate customers. We don’t supply our products directly to the general public or schools, choosing to support the independent retail sector across the UK and Eire who loyally support us. Our product range includes knitwear, sweatshirts, jog pants, hoodies, polos and blazers.
A longstanding responsible business, we consciously align everything we do with our values of trust, care and be better, making decisions in the best interests of colleagues, customers, suppliers, and communities. We became an accredited Living Wage employer in 2018, and are one of the first 6 members of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, which was launched by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, in 2019, and we’re ranked as 5th Best Workplace for Women and 17th Small Business by Great Place to Work®, and won Employer of the Year at Stockport Business Awards three times.
As a B Corp, we believe there is a different and better way of operating successfully – one where people, planet and prosperity are at the heart of everything a business does. We hope that our commitment to doing business more responsibly will inspire others and help spread the idea that we can redefine success in business to be as much about people and planet as it is about making a profit. Rowlinson is certified by The Planet Mark, helping us to monitor, measure and reduce our carbon footprint year on year. We’re carbon neutral for business travel and our UK premises, and we aim to be a Carbon Literate business by the end of 2021. You can learn more about the B Corp movement here: https://bcorporation.uk/
Full members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, we drive improvements throughout our supply chain, demonstrating care for the people who make our garments. For example, we’ve gifted 750 water filter machines in the last 6 years to workers in our Bangladesh supplier, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of them, their families and friends, who might otherwise become ill from contaminated water. Among our numerous responsible initiatives, we also provide female health education and product provision to alleviate period poverty, UK standard health and safety audits, and the Rowlinson Living Wage, with 90% of the workers saying their quality of life is much improved as a result of working at our supplier factory.
If you feel inspired to find out more about becoming a B Corp business, contact Carrie Hamer, Rowlinson: c.hamer@rowlinson-knitwear.com
