The allure of brands with an aura of authenticity

New York

RICHARD Littlewood, the president of GJ Littlewood & Son, a fibre dye house in Philadelphia, recently welcomed a client, Soraya Darabi, to his plant.

Littlewood colourises wool and synthetic fibres for products ranging from pea coats for the US Navy to sports mascots, from high-fashion pieces to home-crafting supplies. Littlewood develops colours and then dyes them onto fibres in the company's brick-walled plant, which is dominated by giant dye kettles, dryers and bale pressers.