Anne Carvell, the former Director of the Leicester-based Knitting Industries’ Federation (KIF), has passed away suddenly at her Scalford home, near Melton Mowbray.

She joined the KIF, then based in Nottingham, as Industrial Relations Advisor and became Director in 1999, when her predecessor retired. This made her a pioneer, as she was the very first female leader of any of the UK Textile and Clothing Industries’ Trade Associations.

Her exceptional knowledge of employment relations and law were soon recognised and much valued by the KIF’s membership. In 1987, she was appointed as a part-time Lay Member of the Employment Tribunals in the East Midlands and continued in that role until her death 36 years later.

She was also a Freeman of the City of London and a Member of The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters.

Her role became increasingly important as the industry came under increasing pressure from low-cost imports, particularly following the end of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) in 2005. This had imposed gradually increasing quotas on low-cost imports from developing countries that were causing material injury to the domestic industry in developed countries.

This gave rise to increasing widespread redundancies and factory closures, including iconic firms like Corah’s and Kempton’s in Leicester, as well as Pretty Polly and Nottingham Manufacturing, with factories across the East Midlands.

The need for Anne Carvell‘s skills peaked as she gave cogent advice on managing the complexities associated with redundancies.

Inevitably, the various trade associations were also impacted by this significant rationalisation. This resulted in her having a major role in the 2001 discussions which saw the KIF merging with the London based British Clothing Industry Association. This evolved into the formation of the UK Fashion and Textiles Association (UKFT) in 2009. Anne emerged as its principal Employment Advisor.

Adam Mansell, UKFT’s CEO commented: “Anne Carvell was a huge asset to the organisation and its members across the country. Her many qualities and expertise will be sadly missed”.