Written by Douglas Darter from United Kingdom, England 5/20/2009

COMMENT >>> I Have used Brooks saddles for over 40 years. The Glenbrook is an excellent piece of equipment, and will fulfill it's function admirably. I do feel however extremely disappointed. Given the Brooks 'heritage', one would have expected this item to have been manufactured in the UK, as are the saddles and other leather goods - this is what Brooks would have you believe. Imagine my disappointment when I read the 'Made in China' label on the display card.

REPLY >>> Brooks Saddle Bags and Holdalls are original designs of the early 1900's and of the 1950's and have not been produced by the company for many decades. Therefore we have not the skills and machinery to produce them in house. Brooks are doing their best to keep production in the UK and in Europe, but some products are nowadays hardly manufactured in the old continent with the quality standards required to be Brooks products. We still make all our saddles in England and many other products in Europe. Regarding our bags, yes, some are made in China. After trying to start production in the UK and Italy we realized that the quality was not good enough for Brooks, therefore we moved manufacturing to China. It is hard to imagine for most people, but China is delivering the highest quality stitching nowadays. We didn’t choose our supplier purely for cost reasons, but for the quality it can deliver.

We believe that in a world which is highly connected, prejudisms should fall. You should see our supplier’s factory in China before expressing negative comments on the sourcing. Last, but not least, could you please check where the computer you are using is manufactured? Ours are Mac and they claim “designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China”. We bought them anyway. We trust that Apple is not having their computers assembled using children labour or in disrespect of other human rights... To conclude, we are still looking for alternative suppliers in the UK, but so far we have not found one. We hope you can change your mind, otherwise we accept that people have different opinions.

Written by Lawrence Bradley from USA 7/21/2009

COMMENT > I would dearly love to hang one of these bags on the back of my beloved Mercian. I understand, however, that these bags are MADE IN CHINA! For several reasons I avoid purchasing anything made in China. I will not hang a bag that was made in China on my Brooks saddle!

REPLY > First of all we thank you and other customers for raising these issues to allow us the opportunity to explain why we began producing a portion of our catalogue outside of England, and specifically in this case in China.

The story began about ten years ago when Brooks was threatened with extinction. Brooks was in grave peril until a group of investors rescued the Brooks saddle operations in Birmingham, and with it the 20 jobs at the factory. Seven years ago Selle Royal SpA, a family owned Italian company, bought Brooks England Ltd. and today the same factory employs over 30 workers, and we intend to continue increasing this number whenever we can.

The rescue of Brooks brought new life and energy to the company and soon we began going through the back catalogues from the last century, discovering many exciting designs that for one reason or another had been abandoned. We found that many of these designs had not at all aged, and deserved a second chance at life.

The first product we re-released was the Swallow saddle to rave reviews. With its minimalist design and clean lines, the Swallow presented a sleek profile very much in line with the standards of all modern racing saddles. The only difference being, Brooks first released the Swallow in 1937.

Following the success of the Swallow, our designers were encouraged to explore other products which once carried the Brooks name. Prototypes based both on the original designs and on radically new ideas began being built and tested. The results succeeded everyone’s expectations and we felt that our customers would benefit from their use.

Brooks is committed to producing as many goods as possible in England, but it can be a difficult to produce in our homeland to the high standards synonymous with the Brooks name and to a price in line with our customer’s expectations. 

We are confident that our customers understand the realities facing producers in today’s marketplace, and adapt their perceptions accordingly, as we will continue to produce the highest-quality products in an ethical way regardless of the country they are produced in. We monitor the factories where our goods are produced and we know that the working conditions contained therein correspond to the ethics of our customers.

Regarding environmental issues, Brooks is not a carbon neutral company, but that does not mean we are not doing our part for the planet. As an industry colleague from the outdoor firm Patagonia recently remarked: “You are doing a lot for the environment. You are producing sustainable goods because your products last for decades.” We source only the best leather raised in the open fields of Britain. This type of cattle produces leather sturdy enough to make a Brooks saddle, and is not the product of industrial farming the likes of which have gone to make hamburgers for fast food. Moreover our leather is vegetable tanned.

We care for our name and high reputation and we are not going to spoil it. We feel that “made by Brooks” should be as strong a guarantee as “made in England”. Therefore we will continue to share information so that our customers can trust that all products bearing the Brooks name are manufactured to the same standards of our legendary Leather Saddles, which we keep making entirely at out Smethwick works in the West Midlands.