Textile Insight

AN ALL-AMERICAN ROOTED COLLECTION The family farms responsible for the sustainable cotton in each state's collection are: Newby Family Farms of Athens, AL McLendon Acres of Leary, GA Lassiter Family Farms of Conway, North Carolina Pugh Farms of Halls, TN Vance and Mandie Smith of Big Spring, Texas Denim fabric by Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, GA Cut & sew by Excel Manufacturing in El Paso, TX MADE IN AMERICA | DENIM Wrangler Collection Spotlights State Pride and Land Stewardship. Rooted in Sustainability 22 • Textile Insight ~ July/August 2019 textileinsight.com ecently Wrangler debuted a unique program of locally sourced denim that connects the company's path forward with its jeanswear heritage. The new limited, premium line is called the Rooted Collection, and 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 denim is made from 100 percent sustainable, local cotton, the supply chain is 100 percent domestic, from the farm to the fabric to the cut and sew operations. Each state's design includes a unique wash, as well as trim and patch details featuring the state's silhouette and other embellishments. The sustainable cotton used for each state's jean is fully traceable to a family farm in that state. Roian Atwood, Wrangler's director of sustainability, explains that the Rooted Collection was inspired by progressive farmers applying innovative growing practices and how these methods could give way to "what sustainable cotton could look like." The two-year development process included collaborative efforts with the growers and the National Resources Conservation Services, an organization that acts as field agents of the USDA, and entailed a deep dive into the science around regenerative agriculture practices, and reflection on how to put this determination into product to share with consumers. The family farms supplying cotton to the Rooted Collection are the first five growers in the Wrangler Science and Conservation program. Led by Atwood, the program advocates for land stewardship and best practices for soil health, such as crop rotation, cover crops and limited- or no-till. 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. Promoted as "sustainable cotton," the cotton grown is verified, tracked, and measured based on regenerative agriculture practices. Atwood describes the launch of the line as "the most aspirational vision we have." He adds that the Rooted Collection is "symbolic and meaningful, and a good start to a new company." That company is Kontoor Brands, Inc., a new, publicly traded corporation headquartered in Greensboro, NC founded on a brand portfolio of Wrangler, Lee and Rock & Republic, a denim trio previously a VF Corporation holding. The Rooted Collection is significant as it aligns with Wrangler's goals to continually improve the environmental performance and traceability of its products. To that end, Wrangler aims to source 100 percent of its cotton from farms using regenerative practices by 2025. Atwood clarifies that not all cotton used will be grown domestically, but all cotton will be sustainable from the source. "To source hyper-local or hyper regional — basically to have product made out the backdoor — is harder to get," Atwood admits. Yet the Rooted story will continue. The brand is designing jeanswear styles for women and has unveiled Rooted Collection t-shirts. "The idea is sustainable cotton now and forever," Atwood concludes. "The Rooted Collection is creating a north star for traceability in a meaningful way." Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, GA, made the denim fabric, and the jeans were cut and sewn by Excel Manufacturing in El Paso, TX. The Rooted Collection also offers T-shirts that were made exclusively with cotton grown by Vance and Mandie Smith, with spinning at Patrick Yarns in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, knitting by Contempora Fabrics in Lumberton, North Carolina, dyeing by Carolina Cotton Works in Gaffney, South Carolina, cut and sewn by Palmetto Apparel Service in Andrews, South Carolina, and printed by TS Designs in Burlington, North Carolina. l R Newby Family Farms of Athens, Alabama

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