CC41

The CC41 Utility logo was a British Board of Trade requirement that appeared on footwear, utility furniture, textiles and utility clothing for just over ten years from 1941. Per a 1941 Associated Press article, CC41 meant "Controlled Commodity", and designated that the item met the government's austerity regulations.

The CC41 logo was designed by Reginald Shipp.

The need to ration certain commodities in time of war had impacted on manufacturers in Britain during the First World War. In 1917 the government introduced 'standard clothing' which were suits for men and boys and women's and girls dresses and accessories (hosiery and underwear) made to a standard pattern from 'standard cloth'. All items had a fixed price. This range of clothing first appeared in the summer of 1918 but manufacturers complained they could not make a profit on the items, and the public complained of poor quality. With the war coming to a close in November 1918, the scheme was dropped as more imports again reached Britain.

By 1941, Britain was two years into another global conflict. With the need to produce clothing and other war essentials for the expanding armed services during the Second World War, many items were once again rationed. Certain raw materials could no longer be imported, and those that could were directed towards the war effort. Food rationing had already been reintroduced in January 1940. Non-rationed items saw their price surge, and clothing saw large mark-ups in price, well above the cost of living.

The government introduced the Limitation of Supply Orders that forced manufacturers to produce only a fraction of their pre-war amounts. By April 1940, the limits on cloth were having a major impact with a 25% cut in wool and rayon, and a 75% in linen. As a consequence manufacturers ended the production of any loss-making lines which led to calls for clothing rationing to be introduced. The prime minister, Winston Churchill, believed that the general public would not accept this change.

In 1941, Oliver Lyttleton, the President of the Board of Trade managed to introduce clothing rationing. Churchill, although thankful the public accepted the move, replaced Lyttleton with Hugh Dalton (a Labour member of the coalition government since 1940) a month later. Churchill was fully aware that the necessary evils of rationing and conscription were now necessary as Britain became involved in a 'total war' spanning the globe.

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