A brief history of Texas Jeans
Texas Jeans was founded long ago with one idea in mind. Keep it American. Owner and President Wallace Thompson wanted to have a jean that was top quality, rugged, and great fitting. But he also wanted to keep the price low so everyone could take advantage of this idea. Many of the “Big Name” jeans manufacturers had since left the country for cheaper offshore labor. Their production costs came down, but the price of the jeans went up!
Not only were they taking jobs out of the country they were also charging the American consumer a huge price tag.
One exception is Texas Jeans, which is that rare clothing maker whose niche
supplier approach has managed to buck the prevailing trends. And it may be on the
forefront of a way of producing goods that’s both better for the country and better for
business. This isn’t to say that the Asheboro, N.C., privately owned company hasn’t had some tough times in trying to compete against cheaper foreign supply sources. Nor is it the expectation that difficult circumstances are going to go away any day soon. But this has not thwarted Texas Jeans determination to stay in the game, both for the sake of its employees and the country.
“I’ve been in this business for the past three decades,” President Wallace Thompson says. “At one time, we operated as many as seven plants. Today, we have one.” While that’s because of a drastic reduction in business, he does see a bright side to this. “We now have a single 186,000-square-foot plant, and there are advantages to having all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. It does make things easier to manage.”
While it’s always good to look at the silver lining, the fact is that it is contained within a particularly dense dark cloud. “While I understand the business reasons for going to Vietnam or China, and, I’ll admit, at one time I considered it, I think you lose something in the bargain,” Thompson maintains. “One is quality in consistency of fit. The other is that there are a lot of people looking for work in this country. They don’t have the education to be a doctor or a lawyer, but they want to put in an honest day’s work to be able to support their families. The manufacturing base in this country can no longer provide the jobs that used to be there for these people. Over the past I have thought about closing or selling the business, but, particularly after 9/11, I just feel an obligation to do
what I can to offer my employees work and try to do my part to maintain the made in America manufacturing tradition that made this country strong.” Nor does Texas Jeans engage in the prevalent practice today of cutting expenses by reducing labor. “If we
have to eliminate a function, we don’t eliminate the people who did it. We find other jobs for them to do.”
