GREENSBORO, N.C. — April 18, 2019 — Wrangler® is taking another groundbreaking step in its sustainability efforts, working with local farmers to create a traceable, locally-sourced denim collection that honors land stewardship and champions state pride. The Wrangler Rooted Collection™ is a limited, premium line made from 100-percent sustainable, local cotton. Each piece was grown, milled, cut and sewn in the United States, helping to ensure America’s denim heritage for future generations.
The Rooted Collection features five state-specific pairs of jeans: the Alabama Jean, the Georgia Jean, the North Carolina Jean, the Tennessee Jean, and the Texas Jean. The sustainable cotton used for each state’s jean is fully traceable to a family farm in that state. Each state’s design includes a unique wash, as well as trim and patch details featuring the state’s silhouette and other embellishments. The collection will also include two T-shirt designs for each state, as well as three national designs.
“The Wrangler Rooted Collection™ reflects our commitment to strengthening local communities and supporting U.S. farmers,” said Tom Waldron, president of Wrangler. “Equally important, the introduction of this collection aligns with our goal to continually improve the environmental performance and traceability of our products.”
The family farms supplying cotton to the Rooted Collection are the first growers in the Wrangler Science and Conservation program, which advocates for land stewardship and soil health best practices. These science-backed methods build crop resilience to weather disruptions while improving yield, reducing water and energy inputs, fighting erosion, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Wrangler aims to source 100 percent of its cotton from farms using land stewardship practices by 2025.
The Wrangler Rooted Collection™ is all-American, from the farm to the fabric to the cut and sew operations. The family farms that provided the sustainably-sourced cotton for each state’s collection are:
- The Alabama Jean – Newby Family Farms of Athens, Ala.;
- The Georgia Jean – McLendon Acres of Leary, Ga., available June 2019;
- The North Carolina Jean – Lassiter Family Farms of Conway, N.C., available June 2019;
- The Tennessee Jean – Pugh Farms of Halls, Tenn., available June 2019; and
- The Texas Jean – Vance and Mandie Smith of Big Spring, Texas.
Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, Ga., makes the denim fabric and the jeans are cut and sewn by Excel Manufacturing in El Paso, Texas.
The Rooted Collection T-shirts were made exclusively with sustainable cotton grown by Vance and Mandie Smith and were manufactured throughout the Carolinas:
- Spinning at Patrick Yarns in Kings Mountain, N.C.;
- Knitting by Contempora Fabrics in Lumberton, N.C.;
- Dyeing by Carolina Cotton Works in Gaffney, S.C.;
- Cut and sewn by Palmetto Apparel Service in Andrews, S.C; and
- Printed by TS Designs in Burlington, N.C.
The Wrangler Rooted Collection™ initially will be available through Wrangler.com and participating retailers. Jeans will retail for approximately $100 per piece, with T-shirts priced from $30 per piece.
Posted April 19, 2019
Source: Wrangler
