Tariffs, Tailoring, and Tough Choices: What Trade Politics Mean for The Mod Factory

At The Mod Factory, we’ve always believed that fashion isn’t just fabric, it’s identity, history,and intent. For us, that identity has long been stitched into UK tailoring, European craftsmanship, and clothing made with care, not compromise.

But thanks to recently reintroduced tariffs on imports from England and the EU, particularly under policies revived by President Trump, it’s becoming increasingly cost-prohibitive to stock the pieces that define our look, our ethos, and our shop.

Let’s break it down.

What Happened?

Recently, The Mod Factory was hit with a significant tariff on a suit order from England. Not a luxury indulgence, but a staple item for our store and our community. What used to be a challenging but manageable cost is now pushing into unsustainable territory.

These tariffs are part of broader trade policies aimed at pressuring the UK and EU on unrelated political and economic fronts, but small businesses like ours are taking the hit.

The Real Impact on Independent Brands

We don’t deal in bulk. We don’t mass-produce. We work with small makers, tailored suits, and limited drops. These tariffs don’t hit us like a tax, they hit us like a wall.

For small businesses:

• Costs go up, sometimes 25–50% overnight

• Margins disappear

• Stock becomes riskier to carry

• International partnerships suffer

It doesn’t just hurt us, it erodes culture. Style, music, and art don’t follow borders. Trade restrictions like these keep the best work out of the hands of the people who value it most.

What It Means for The Mod Factory

To be blunt: until these tariffs are lifted, we won’t be able to stock UK and European suits and clothing in our online shop. That also means we’re pausing plans for a physical storefront, which would’ve been stocked with those exact pieces.

This doesn’t mean The Mod Factory is going away, far from it. But it does mean shifting focus:

• More art prints, books, and accessories

• More domestically sourced products

• Continued blog content, cultural commentary, and style philosophy

We’ll adapt, because we have to. But we won’t pretend it’s not a loss.

What You Can Do

• Support small makers and shops who are transparent about these struggles

• Call attention to unfair trade policies that hurt creative industries

• Keep showing up for brands like ours who put culture over convenience

We’ll keep showing up, too, with clarity, with creativity, and with a refusal to compromise on what matters.

Style should cross oceans. And someday soon, we hope it will again.

Stay sharp,The Mod Factory