The sporran is the furry pouch on the front of the kilt. (Getty Images photo)

For instance, did you know that the sporran, the fur-covered pouch on the front of a kilt, is made of sealskin? (For that matter, did you even know it was called a sporran? I sure didn’t.)

And that Europe has a ban on the importation of sealskin products?

What’s a kilt-clad Scot to do?

Enter the Inuit, according to a report by Randy Boswell in the Nunatsiaq News:

The plan to seek continued sealskin shipments through Inuit suppliers was revealed Sept. 20 in British media reports quoting Ian Chisholm, a leading Aberdeen kilt maker and industry spokesman.

Describing the proposed Inuit supply chain as a potential “lifesaver” for kilt makers, Chisholm pointed to special exemptions for Inuit hunters under the European ban, which has been slammed by the Canadian government and Inuit organizations.

Until the possibility of obtaining sealskins from the Inuit arose, kilt makers were facing the end of an era for traditional sporrans. Apparently synthetics or rabbit fur just won’t do.

“Nothing beats sealskin,” Chisholm says. “It has a quality of its own. It has a beautiful luster against the tartans of the kilts.”

There you have it.

Gwen Florio

Tags: Ian Chilsolm, Inuit, kilt, kilt-makers, seal hunting, sealskin, sporran