It was a word that was new to me when I first heard it earlier this year. It’s a made-up term, of course, and it means the process of bringing manufacturing processes back into the UK from the Far East.

We’ve always encouraged readers of this magazine to shop locally and reshoring is an extension of that principle – if it can be done on a more local basis, it should be.

A quarter of a century or more ago, British consumers began to demand production of higher volumes at lower prices. It drove manufacturing out of this country at a rate that represented an exodus. But the tide has turned and many businesses who sent their manufacturing activities offshore are in the process of bringing them back onshore.

Labour rates in the Far East were so low that UK consumers could afford to pay the carriage and import costs associated with bringing the goods back to this country. For many years the system worked and produced the low-cost product that consumers sought – for some it still does work and they will continue to source their goods abroad.

But for a growing number of others, things have changed to such an extent that they have taken the bold steps to reshore their manufacturing activities. The reasons are numerous and varied. A big rise in labour rates in China and its neighbouring countries, ethical issues and the costs of auditing them, a demand for quality over quantity, disruptions in the supply chain.

All good reasons, but perhaps the one key ingredient was that the UK government recognised the issue and started to give greater support to those wanting to produce goods in the UK. Perhaps the stamp ‘Made in Britain’ will soon be seen on more of the goods sold in our shops.