AN East Kilbride-headquartered packaging and machinery specialist has admitted it was ‘blown away’ by a three-piece outfit created by a local designer using its meat netting, as the garment continues to draw global attention.
Scobie and Junor partnered with Verna Lai, a Glasgow-based designer about to enter her final year in fashion at Heriot-Watt University’s School of Textiles and Design, to create the outfit – which features a cape, skirt, and tank-top predominantly made out of the company’s meat netting.
The outfit took pride of place on Scobie and Junor’s stand at the IFFA trade fair in Frankfurt, which covers markets in the processing, packaging, and selling of meat and was attended by 63,117 visitors across five days in May. The outfit has since been reported on by media outlets as far afield as America.
Intent on standing out at the event, the firm partnered with Heriot-Watt University to launch a design competition for a garment amongst its students – with Verna’s coming out on top, thanks to her focus on highlighting the strength and flexibility of the packaging material, as well as nods to Scottish culture.
“The best people to talk to about this type of project are students, because they’re the ones constantly learning about new materials and innovative ways to create garments out of sustainable materials,” Simon Moorhouse, marketing executive at Scobie & Junor, told Packaging Scotland.
“Heriot-Watt’s reputation precedes it; they’re innovators, and I knew it was an institution I wanted to interact with to see if we could make this happen.”
Admitting she had no idea what working with meat netting in this context would be like, other than the benefits that could be brought from its twine and elastane make-up, Verna had to organise intrinsic testing to ensure her design could function on its own without support, as well as whether or not the netting could be put through a sewing machine!
“It was a lot of pressure, but it was welcomed pressure,” Verna explained. “If you don’t challenge yourself and put yourself in these difficult situations, then you don’t grow – it’s been so fruitful in terms of handling a big project and navigating through it.”
Verna was given full autonomy by Scobie and Junor to implement any changes to the design or the garment’s makeup, with regular updates being provided to the firm throughout the work.
“When I went to go and receive the garment I was blown away,” Simon revealed. “I’d only received a couple of pictures, so when Verna did the reveal, I was in awe of it because I had this preconception that it was to going to be good, but I didn’t realise it was going to be that good!”
So impressed was the firm with both the garment itself and the response, that it is currently in talks with Heriot-Watt about making the project a yearly occurrence, with hopes of creating another outfit to be unveiled at the 2026 Royal Highland Show. “We want to make sure we’re championing the local talent, because Scotland has got such a wealth of creativeness and a lot of international talent that comes in,” Simon added. “We want to say we were part of that and part of someone’s story, and able to facilitate a situation where they’re able to gain a lot of traction and career progression.”
Verna is now urging other students to take advantage of such opportunities and not be intimidated by the challenge. She told of the invaluable experience of working in a commercial setting and having real-world work to point to come graduation.
The garment is currently on display at the entrance of Scobie and Junor’s East Kilbride HQ, with Simon revealing it to be an ideal conversation starter, as well as providing an important tribute to the vast number of butchers within its customer base.
Offering vacuum pouches and boards; bags, sheets, and boxes; trays and film; and general containers; as well as automatic tying machines heat sealers, and tray sealers and overwrappers, the firm also supplies butchery machines and equipment, alongside ingredients and sauces.
“We primarily work with butchers, and we try and champion the local butcher as much as we can,” Simon said, before explaining that an increasing number of butchers are offering artisanal ranges to appeal to younger generations. “Our mentality when it comes to our butchers is that we want to deliver them a product that you can’t buy in the supermarket; something that’s special and unique.”
Founded in 1919, the firm has long prided itself on offering solutions at affordable prices for customers. With sustainability high on the agenda for every business, the company is looking to enhance its offering and its in-house R&D base is currently trialling a raft of solutions. Simon hopes Packaging Scotland readers can help in its journey to affordable sustainability.
“We are constantly working with developers and looking at our own in-house methods of developing packaging later down the line to ensure that sustainability element,” he revealed, adding that he has hopes of offering sustainable alternatives to items such as Styrofoam trays and cling film. “We’re all ears if a Packaging Scotland reader has a solution. We’re very open to talking to packaging suppliers and finding out what more we can do to introduce more sustainable packaging, but also ensuring our customers aren’t paying a premium for it.”
• If you have a solution for Scobie and Junor or would like to see the dress in person at the firm’s HQ, contact Simon at simonm@scobie-junor.co.uk
