[Cross-posted] Sent to me by Stefan Engeseth, Stutterheim Raincoats‘ website conveys a very Swedish feel, touching on one of the emotions we don’t always associate with Sweden: melancholy during the winter. The copy on the site even says, ‘Let’s embrace Swedish melancholy.’
With emotive photographs and a very Swedish soundtrack, it helps create an atmosphere as well as differentiation for the brand.
The website also stresses the made-in-Sweden aspect of the Stutterheim range, as well as its home in the town of Borås, well known for fashion design, textiles, and fashion manufacture.
The country-of-origin aspect is important not just to the export markets (to whom the site must partly be aimed, given its use of English—although 90 per cent of Swedes speak the language) but to the domestic one. With the reforms of Moderaterna (conservatives) over the last half-decade, there has inevitably been more imports into the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if an increasing number of Swedes will now, specifically, seek out locally manufactured goods today as a reaction to the market-driven theories of Fredrik Reinfeldt and co.—Jack Yan, Publisher
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The 2010 Swedish Parliamentary Election Results: Left-wing parties: 43%, Right Wing parties: 49%. Hence, Swedes will not “seek out locally manufactured goods today as a reaction to the market-driven theories of Fredrik Reinfeldt and co.”
Hence, I used the word if.
Unlike me, you are assuming all Swedes can be grouped into one lot. Being one of the more conscientious nations, I’m willing to bet that (relatively more) Swedes are more aware of the country of origin of their goods.
Sweden is also rather early on its path in terms of economic liberalization, one that ended in tears in New Zealand in terms of real jobs and GDP. I see the country repeating the same mistakes.
As to your statistics, while accurate, they are (perhaps necessarily, given the space) simplified. I suspect that you and I can agree that both the last Social Democratic government and the present Opposition were hampered by either conflicted or weak leadership as they contested the last two General Elections. I am not sure whether this indicates a sea-change in Swedes in embracing monetarism, hence the closeness in the left–right split.