For decades, the pet industry – like much of the consumer goods sector – has embraced global manufacturing. Products bearing labels such as Made in China or Made in Vietnam have become the norm, driven by competitive pricing, efficient production and an increasingly sophisticated manufacturing base. Today, overseas factories produce goods of exceptional quality, making off-shoring a commercially logical decision for many brands.

But the conversation is changing.

Rising freight costs, geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruption and growing consumer interest in sustainability have prompted many manufacturers to ask a different question: What value does British manufacturing still offer?

For long-established pet accessory manufacturer Ancol, the answer is becoming increasingly clear.

From British factory floors to global supply chains

Ancol began manufacturing leather collars and leads in Walsall more than 55 years ago before expanding into webbing products during the 1970s. At its peak, the company employed more than 100 people producing collars, leads and accessories that earned an international reputation for quality, supplying independent pet retailers alongside major grocery chains throughout Europe and North America.

Like many British manufacturers during the late 1980s and 1990s, Ancol gradually embraced overseas production. As manufacturing capabilities in Asia expanded, off-shoring enabled companies to remain competitive, protect margins and broaden product ranges. The strategy was commercially sound and, for many businesses, essential for continued growth.

Today, Ancol's turnover is approximately ten times larger than it was during its manufacturing peak, yet it operates with around one-fifth of the workforce. Those staffing changes occurred gradually through retirement, career changes and natural attrition rather than wholesale restructuring, but they reflect a wider story across British manufacturing.

The UK became increasingly effective at trading products—but progressively less capable of making them.

The cost of losing manufacturing

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic exposed just how dependent many industries had become on global supply chains. Shipping costs reached unprecedented levels, with container prices at times exceeding the value of the products they carried. At the same time, increasing labour costs overseas, changing economic conditions and global political uncertainty highlighted the risks of relying exclusively on imported goods.

Many businesses began searching for British manufacturing partners, only to discover that much of the country's production infrastructure had disappeared. Skilled machinists had retired, specialist suppliers had closed, and entire networks of component manufacturers and supporting industries had diminished.

The skills gap was no longer theoretical – it was tangible.

A different direction

Unlike many businesses that exited manufacturing altogether, Ancol maintained its production capability throughout these changes. While several respected names in the pet accessory sector moved entirely to imported goods, Ancol continued investing in British manufacturing expertise.

That decision is now shaping the company's future.

Since 2020, the business has committed significant investment to expanding its UK production capacity. Dog bed manufacturing has been developed in-house, product design and packaging capabilities have been strengthened, leather production has been modernised with computer-controlled cutting and sewing technology, and specialist printed webbing is now designed, printed and manufactured entirely at its Walsall facility.

Further investment in 2026 includes laser cutting technology and additional computerised sewing equipment, allowing even more products to be manufactured efficiently in Britain.

More importantly, these investments are creating skilled employment and helping rebuild expertise that has been steadily disappearing from British industry.

Manufacturing adds more than products

Choosing British manufacturing is not simply about where a collar or lead is made. It is about shortening supply chains, improving quality control, responding more quickly to market demands and investing in local skills.

It also offers greater resilience. Recent years have demonstrated that businesses with diverse manufacturing capabilities are often better positioned to respond to unexpected global disruption than those reliant on a single overseas supply route.

For consumers, British-made products may represent an opportunity to support domestic employment while purchasing competitively priced, high-quality pet accessories. For retailers, they offer provenance, consistency and a compelling story that increasingly resonates with customers.

A competitive alternative

Imported products will always have an important place within the pet industry. Global manufacturing remains essential, and many overseas factories continue to produce outstanding products.

However, the industry no longer needs to view British manufacturing as an outdated concept or a premium-only proposition.

Companies such as Ancol are demonstrating that investment in UK manufacturing can coexist with competitive pricing, product innovation and commercial success. More than five decades after the business first began making collars and leads in Walsall, it is once again expanding its British manufacturing footprint – not through nostalgia, but through strategic investment in the future.

The question, perhaps, is no longer why buy British?

Instead, it may be worth asking what value is created when established manufacturers continue investing in British skills, British jobs and British production – and whether that investment benefits not only individual businesses, but the wider pet industry as a whole.