Our Responsibility

As a family business, we’re set on making the best choices for our customers, our community and everyone in our supply chains. We’re passionate about making a positive difference in UK fashion. And we’re not just setting goals for the future: we’re taking action now.

Our Partners

Taking care of everyone we work with is important to us. By developing direct relationships with small, carefully selected suppliers – British-based where possible – we know exactly who is making our yarns and trims. Take our beautiful, cosy lambswool – it’s spun by a 250-year-old mill in West Yorkshire.

A little more local to us in Derbyshire is Cluny Lace. Based in Ilkeston, they have been producing exceptional quality Leavers lace since 1760 and remain owned by the same family – now in its ninth generation! We also source some of our bamboo from a Leicester-based fabric manufacturer that uses a variety of recycled and organic yarns.

A place for all

It’s our aim to make David Nieper a place for all, where everyone feels valued and free to be themselves. We’re unbiased when choosing the best people to work with and are proud to have a wonderful team, ranging in age from 18 to 94. We’re also championing women in fashion with an all-female design team and women in leadership roles across our business.

Wellbeing

Our people feel supported, fulfilled and happy when they come to work. We’re proud to have been the first British fashion manufacturer included in The Sunday Times ‘Best 100 Companies to Work For’ list and maintain an exceptionally low staff turnover rate – many of our staff have been with us for 25 years. Alongside generous benefits, our employees enjoy fantastic discounts, subsidised cafe meals, service awards and staff events organised by our social committee.

We value every member of our team and help them reach their goals through training and development. We’re taking strides as a learning organisation, where our people can build skills and progress their career, and the next generation can learn prized techniques.

Community

We’re proud of our Derbyshire roots. Family values have been at our heart for 60 years, and we seize every chance to support the causes important to our customers and community. Fundraising events – from cake sales to dress-up days – help us back local charities, while our matched-giving scheme doubles the amount our employees raise for good causes.

The Christopher Nieper Foundation is also proud to sponsor The Spirit of Alfreton, a community website we helped to set up during the Covid-19 pandemic. It acts as a hub for the community, where locals can find information about services and events.

Inspiring the next generation

Our positive impact extends to future generations via our apprenticeships. We led the national trailblazer for apprenticeships in British fashion and wrote the standards now followed by training providers and colleges nationwide. In 2019, we became an employer provider for apprenticeships – the first British fashion brand to gain this standing. We now have an internal Sewing Academy offering first-hand training and two nationally recognised apprenticeships, covering all aspects of luxury garment making. We’ll be supporting around a dozen trainees at any one time.

Our company also sponsors the David Nieper Academy, Alfreton's secondary school for 850 pupils. Previously amongst the weakest 2% of English schools and rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted, it’s now one of the most oversubscribed in Derbyshire thanks to an ambitious, career-focused curriculum. Intake has quadrupled, the Sixth Form has been re-established and it’s just received its best Ofsted result in 20 years. We couldn’t be more proud.