Howies

Howies is a clothing brand based in west Wales, United Kingdom. Founded in 1995 by Clare and David Hieatt, the company developed a distinctive position around environmentally responsible clothing, natural materials, ethical production, and outspoken graphic communication. Its product range has included T-shirts, jeans, and sportswear, with organic cotton, merino wool, and recycled cotton used as alternatives to fabrics derived from petrochemicals. The brand originated in London but moved to Wales in 2001, a relocation that helped establish the west Wales base associated with Howies. Around the same time, the company produced its first substantial mail-order catalogue, supporting a direct relationship with customers and giving the brand room to communicate its environmental and political ideas alongside product information. Howies became particularly recognizable for T-shirts featuring hand-screen-printed graphics and slogans. Printing was carried out in a workshop at the company headquarters, reinforcing the brand's small-scale, craft-oriented identity. Howies' visual and cultural identity has been closely connected with active sports. The brand built visibility in mountain biking, surfing, and skateboarding, sponsoring athletes and creating products and collaborations associated with those communities. It also developed special-edition products with Curtis Bikes; the Howies blue color became a continuing option on a number of Curtis bicycle models. The company is especially associated with its graphic T-shirt designs, including the classic Howies logo and designs known as “9 Bikes,” “CCTV,” “Life*,” “Blood Donor,” and “Home Work.” The brand has often preferred to render its name in lowercase as “howies.” Howies experienced a period of corporate ownership when the founders sold the company to The Timberland Company in 2011 for a reported £3.2 million. The arrangement did not become permanent: in January 2012, Howies' management team announced that it had bought the company back and that the business would continue operating independently from Cardigan. This return to independence restored the brand's association with its Welsh base and founder-led origins. The company has also attracted attention for disputes and business developments. In 2003, Levi Strauss & Co. threatened legal action over Howies' use of a tab on the rear pocket of its jeans, because of the similarity to Levi's pocket-tab branding; Howies' tab was grey, while Levi's was red. Howies was identified in 2008 as one of the United Kingdom's more recession-resistant companies. Its Carnaby Street shop in London closed in December 2011, during the period surrounding the change in ownership. Overall, Howies is best understood as a niche UK apparel brand whose differentiation rests on environmental materials, ethical aspirations, graphic design, direct communication, and credibility within outdoor and action-sports communities.

Howies was established in 1995 by Clare and David Hieatt. The name derives from Clare Hieatt's maiden name, Howells. From its beginning, the business pursued a clothing model that combined apparel design with environmental and ethical concerns. Rather than relying exclusively on conventional synthetic materials, Howies promoted natural and recycled fibers, including organic cotton, merino wool, and recycled cotton. This material strategy became part of the brand's identity rather than merely a technical product attribute. The company's early public profile was shaped by its T-shirts. Howies developed graphic designs with political, environmental, and socially themed messages, helping its products function as both clothing and expressions of personal values. T-shirts were screen printed by hand in a workshop at the brand's headquarters. This production detail supported an image of craftsmanship and gave the company a way to connect the physical making of garments with its broader ethical positioning. Howies' early management and marketing structure included Jeff Boardman, who served as the first marketing and team manager from 1996 to 2001, and Mark Simmons, a branding specialist who was managing director from 1999 to 2001. In 2001, the company moved from London to Wales. The relocation was an important organizational and cultural turning point: Howies became identified with west Wales, and it produced its first proper mail-order catalogue after the move. The direct-mail format helped the brand tell a fuller story about its products, materials, and values while serving customers beyond a conventional retail network. During the 2000s, Howies strengthened its association with active sports, especially mountain biking, surfing, and skateboarding. It sponsored athletes and participated in communities where durability, outdoor use, and independent brand culture were important. The company also produced special-edition items connected with Curtis Bikes. The resulting association was strong enough that Howies blue continued as a standard color option on a number of Curtis bicycle models. The brand's reputation remained particularly tied to its T-shirt graphics, including the classic logo and designs referred to as “9 Bikes,” “CCTV,” “Life*,” “Blood Donor,” and “Home Work.” Howies commonly styled its name in lowercase, reflecting its preferred visual identity. The company encountered a branding dispute in 2003 when Levi Strauss & Co. threatened to sue over a Howies tab positioned on the rear right pocket of its jeans. The Howies tab was grey, whereas the Levi's tab was red, but the placement and form were considered sufficiently similar to prompt the dispute. The episode illustrated the visibility Howies had achieved in denim and casual apparel while also exposing the legal sensitivities surrounding distinctive garment trademarks. Howies was reported in 2008 as the sixth most recession-proof company in the United Kingdom. The following year, David Hieatt indicated that he would leave the company at the end of October 2009. In 2011, the Hieatts sold Howies to The Timberland Company for a reported £3.2 million. The brand's London Carnaby Street shop closed in December of that year. The ownership change was relatively short-lived: in January 2012, Howies' management team announced that it had purchased the business back and that Howies would continue as an independent company operating from Cardigan. The available reference material does not establish a later ownership structure, detailed current management roster, current website, or a full account of post-2012 trading activity. Its documented historical identity, however, is clear: Howies is a west Welsh apparel brand built around environmental materials, ethical aspirations, graphic T-shirts, direct customer communication, and credibility in outdoor and action-sports cultures.

• 2012

  Management-led buyback

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Howies' management announces that it has bought the company back and will operate it independently from Cardigan.

• 2011

  Sale to The Timberland Company

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  The founders sell Howies to The Timberland Company for a reported £3.2 million.

• 2011

  Carnaby Street store closes

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Howies closes its London shop on Carnaby Street.

• 2003

  Jeans-tab trademark dispute

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Levi Strauss & Co. threatens legal action over the placement of a Howies tab on jeans.

• 2001

  Relocation to Wales

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Howies moves from London to Wales and produces its first proper mail-order catalogue.

• 1999

  Mark Simmons becomes managing director

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Branding specialist Mark Simmons serves as managing director from 1999 to 2001.

• 1996

  Jeff Boardman joins as marketing and team manager

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Jeff Boardman becomes Howies' first marketing and team manager, serving through 2001.

• 1995

  Howies is founded

  [1]Howiesen.wikipedia.org

  Clare and David Hieatt establish Howies, naming the company after Clare's maiden name, Howells.

An environmentally conscious, ethically oriented UK apparel brand combining natural and recycled fabrics with bold graphic design and credibility in mountain biking, surfing, skateboarding, and other active-sport communities.

• T-shirts

  Graphic T-shirts

  Howies became particularly known for T-shirts carrying hand-screen-printed graphics, political statements, environmental themes, and recognizable brand imagery. The classic logo and designs such as “9 Bikes,” “CCTV,” “Life*,” “Blood Donor,” and “Home Work” are associated with the brand's graphic language. Production at a workshop located at the headquarters supported Howies' craft-oriented and locally grounded image.

• Denim

  Jeans

  Howies has produced jeans as part of its casual clothing range. The line became involved in a 2003 branding dispute when Levi Strauss & Co. objected to a Howies tab placed on the rear right pocket. The Howies tab was described as grey, in contrast to Levi's red tab.

• Activewear

  Sportswear

  Howies' sportswear reflects its links with mountain biking, surfing, skateboarding, and other active outdoor communities. The brand's positioning emphasizes practical clothing, natural or recycled fibers, and credibility among participants in sports where durability and environmental concerns are meaningful purchase considerations.

• Sustainable apparel

  Organic cotton apparel

  Organic cotton is one of the natural materials Howies has used to support its environmental and ethical apparel proposition. It is presented as an alternative to petrochemical-derived modern fabrics and forms part of the brand's broader preference for materials with a more natural or recycled origin.

• Outdoor apparel

  Merino wool apparel

  Howies has used merino wool in its product philosophy as a natural-fiber alternative for clothing and sportswear. The material is consistent with the brand's focus on outdoor use, natural textiles, and reducing dependence on synthetic, petrochemical-derived fabrics.

• Brand collaboration

  Curtis Bikes collaborations

  Howies produced special-edition products associated with Curtis Bikes. The partnership helped connect the apparel brand to mountain biking culture, and Howies blue continued as a standard color option on a number of Curtis bicycle models.

• 2003

  Levi Strauss jeans-tab dispute

  Levi Strauss & Co. threatened to sue Howies over a logo-bearing tab positioned on the rear right pocket of Howies jeans. The similarity to Levi's tab branding prompted the dispute, although the Howies tab was grey and Levi's was red.

  Source

Read more

• Hand-screen-printed message T-shirts

  United Kingdom

  Howies used hand-screen-printed T-shirts carrying environmental, political, and social messages as a recurring brand communication platform. The designs made the products visible as expressions of values as well as garments.

  Outcome. The approach helped make Howies especially recognizable for graphic T-shirts and strengthened its activist, independent brand identity.

  Source
• Active-sports athlete sponsorship

  United Kingdom

  Howies sponsored athletes and built associations across mountain biking, surfing, and skateboarding.

  Outcome. The sponsorship activity gave the brand cultural credibility within UK action-sports communities.

  Source
• Curtis Bikes special editions

  United Kingdom

  Howies created special-edition products connected with Curtis Bikes, extending its identity from apparel into mountain-bike culture.

  Outcome. The collaboration contributed to the continued use of Howies blue as a standard option on various Curtis bicycle models.

  Source

• 2012

  Management buyback and return to independenceM&A

  Background

  After the sale to The Timberland Company and the closure of the Carnaby Street shop, Howies' management pursued a return to independent operation.

  Action taken

  The management team announced that it had bought Howies back and would continue operating from Cardigan.

  Aftermath

  The buyback re-established Howies as an independent business associated with its Welsh base.

  Source

• 2011

  Sell Howies to The Timberland CompanyM&A

  Background

  The founders chose to sell the established apparel brand to The Timberland Company.

  Action taken

  Howies was sold to The Timberland Company for a reported £3.2 million.

  Aftermath

  The brand operated under Timberland ownership for a limited period before a management-led buyback was announced in 2012.

  Reported acquisition price. £3.2 million (2011)

  Source

• 2001

  Move the business from London to WalesStrategy

  Background

  Howies sought to establish a stronger base connected with its developing Welsh identity and direct relationship with customers.

  Action taken

  The company relocated from London to Wales and produced its first proper mail-order catalogue.

  Aftermath

  Howies became identified with west Wales and strengthened its direct-mail and independent-brand presentation.

  Source

1. 1Howiesen.wikipedia.org