It’s still ours: Sales assistant Nuria Medina Marin folding a ‘lopi’ sweater in a store in Reykjavik. — AP
REYKJAVIK (Iceland): Trouble is rattling one of Iceland’s most distinctive industries: the production of the thick, hand-knitted “lopi” sweaters adored by tourists and worn with pride by locals.The individually produced, very warm sweaters have become a symbol of Iceland. But local knitters are upset at seeing their profit margins diminished by the appearance of sweaters actually made in China, albeit from authentic Icelandic wool.
The practice was started by some local manufacturers who have successfully outsourced the labour to China. Containers full of local yarn are shipped from the North Atlantic island nation, made into sweaters, then shipped back again, labelled as “hand-knitted from Icelandic wool”.
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