Woolly Hats and Warm Hearts Lands' End Invites Customers To Knit A Charity Hat For Chilly Sailors

    LONDON, ENGLAND, September 19, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The home shopping clothing specialist has teamed up with the Sailors' Society and is aiming to provide hundreds of knitted hats for the merchant seafarer charity's Woolly Hat Campaign 2010.

The retailer has put together a free 'knit-a-hat' kit; providing customers with everything they need to create wonderful woolly hats. The new hats will warm the cockles of merchant sailors' hearts - as well as their heads - as they battle the elements to ship our consumer goods around the world.

The kit contains Lands' End's exciting new feelgood yarn - a specially sourced blend that knits into wonderfully warm and cosy clothing. Enough of the feelgood yarn has been put aside to enable the business and its loyal customers to hit their target of 1,500 hats to be distributed to sailors during Woolly Hat Week - February 7-13th 2010.

Lands' End UK Managing Director Tim Curtis said: "We're proud to pledge our support to the Sailors' Society as it works to enrich the quality of seafarers' lives in the UK and around the world and we're sure our customers have all the necessary skills to get knitting and make a difference.

"Sailors and sailing is close to our hearts at Lands' End - our US founder Gary Comer was a world-class sailor and our business grew out of its roots as a yachting equipment retailer into the global clothing brand it is today."

Jan Webber, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at the Sailors' Society, said: "We're delighted to be working with Lands' End. Many people forget that without the seafarer, everyday essentials that we take for granted would not reach our shores. These people often spend many months at sea in harsh conditions, sometimes not even speaking the same language as their colleagues.

"A simple act of gratitude can mean the world to someone far from home and family; by knitting a woolly hat you are spreading the work of the Sailors' Society and directly benefiting the seafarer at the same time."

Notes to Editors:

Lands' End UK is based in Rutland, where its European head office comprises a state-of-the-art distribution centre, call centre and outlet store. It's also home to the brand's 400-strong team.

Lands' End is known for its outstanding ranges of own-brand clothing, footwear and outdoor clothing backed up by first-class service and an innovative "guaranteed for good" returns pledge.

The brand's latest catalogue is published today, September 14th 2009, and includes the 'knit-a-hat' kit launched in conjunction with the Sailors' Society. The kit can be requested for free (item number 390866) and will be dispatched along with customers' orders.

The kit contains:

• Enough Lands' End feelgood yarn to knit one adult's hat,
• A knitting pattern,
• A pre-paid envelope to forward the hat to the Sailors' Society headquarters for distribution during Woolly Hat Week 2010,
• A gift tag so the customer can add a personal, hand-written message to the recipient of their hat.

The Sailors' Society provides practical and emotional support to seafarers and their families in the UK and throughout the world. Its Port Chaplains visit thousands of ships during the year, reaching out to crew members of all ranks, without distinction for nationality or faith.

Woolly hats are an essential item of clothing as many seafarers are ill-prepared for the cold climates they encounter around the world. The Society gives away over 20,000 hats each year.

For more information about how the Sailors' Society supports seafarers around the world, visit www.sailors-society.org or visit www.landsend.co.uk/feelgood to learn more about our involvement.

# # #