Ralph Tharpe
Founding Board Member White Oak Legacy Foundation
We want to work on ways to bring cut and sew back to North Carolina
The White Oak Legacy Foundation (WOLF) is dedicated to the history of denim innovation, which has emanated out of Greensboro, North Carolina, for over 112 years. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, WOLF’s Founding Board Member Ralph Tharpe explains the organisation’s endeavour to serve as a resource to companies in the denim and apparel trade.
Tell us about the Proximity Manufacturing Company set up last year. Are all raw materials needed available within the US?
The cotton and yarn we can get from the US, and maybe even North Carolina, but the indigo dye comes from overseas. Stony Creek Colors is moving to introduce natural pre-reduced (without chemical reduction). If we can get the financial support needed, we will build a small dye machine to dye the yarns for White Oak using only bio-based indigo. The only thing holding that up is financing.
What is the history of denim fabric?
When I think about denim I think about the riveted jean. That all started in the early 1870’s right here in the US with Jacob Davis and a canvas pant. Levi Strauss paid for the rivet patent and the company worked with Amoskeag Mill in New Hampshire to develop a heavier denim to make a strong and durable work pant. Then around 1969, a new spinning method was introduced, and everything changed again. The fabric became more even, more consistent, and cheaper. Denim started moving from the uniform of rebellious teens and pure utilitarian workwear to fashion.
How has the denim manufacturing process evolved in the US over a century beginning from 1905?
In 1905 the last process at White Oak was weaving. The fabric was shipped in bales of folded lengths. Overalls or waist high overalls were cut from loom state fabric. The 1930’s saw the introduction of the Sanforizing process which uses a thick rubber belt to compress the fabric into the dimension it shrinks to after a few washes. It really revolutionised the market because the consumer did not have to guess how much the garment would shrink. Since 1905 there were many improvements in fibre processing which led to higher productivity and lower costs. The transition to a new spinning process in the late 1960’s produced another sea change in the manufacturing of denim. The new yarn formation process called “open-end” spinning combined three major process into one, saving huge amounts of labour. The problem was the yarns were not as strong. So, denim companies just made the yarns larger and reduced the number of yarns in the construction. Then came the introduction of stretch and synthetic fibre to bring a new dimension to denim. It was perfect for fashion, but durable denim for workwear is rare. Some of us long for the old ring spun selvage denim.
What are the products of Proximity Manufacturing Company?
We are focused on loom state denim. The manufacturing team has had to be resourceful to create interesting fabrics because we don’t have the money to develop special yarns. That’s coming but not right now. One interesting development is 20’s two ply yarns that have been dyed for weft applications.
Who are the fabric customers? Did you have a collaboration with Raleigh Denim?
Yes, Raleigh Denim was an early supporter of WOLF and Proximity Manufacturing Company. They used some yards made with a tan 20’s two ply to produce a special loom state product. Recently they announced a partnership with Nihon Menpu, a premier Japanese selvage denim producer. We are honoured to work with Victor at Raleigh Denim and in future we will develop more new styles that will fit well with his aesthetic and compete favourably with Nihon Menpu.
Tellason is another company collaborating on loom state denim for jeans.
Mike Hodis of Runabout Goods is doing 116 jackets out of the Proximity Manufacturing Company inaugural denim run made in 2021. There is one jacket for each year from 1905 to 2021. White Oak made denim in each of those years except 2018, 2019, and 2020. There can only be one inaugural run. We hope these jackets will become very rare new vintage. The yards for these jackets were made of US yarn and dyed by Mount Vernon Mills, one of two indigo dyers left in the US.
Opie Way is a very creative shoe manufacturer. Proximity Manufacturing Company picked up a few cones of two ply cotton yarns with colour. These were woven in the weft of the selvage denim warp. At the suggestion of Evan Morrison at Proximity Manufacturing Company, Opie Way made some tennis shoes with the weft side of the denim used as the face. These shoes are selling well and Weft Out just might become a trend.
Why is it important to preserve the denim heritage?
During World War II the government rationed things like metal and thread. The cinch and the arcuate design on the back pocket of Levi’s jeans had to be removed. It was for a good cause. Today our earth has that same emergency need to conserve resources, especially water. The manufacturing arm of White Oak Legacy Foundation is called Proximity Manufacturing Company. It doesn’t have a Sanforize machine so, of necessity, our denims are loom state. This saves tons of time and resources, and we know that shrink can be stabilised by a simple wash (in development). We hope our products can be as close to raw as possible. No enzyme, no stones, no resin, and no holes, just raw durability. Our goal is to produce the most durable jean possible with the least amounts of resources, especially water, energy, and to eliminate synthetic materials (including synthetic indigo).
We are highly appreciative of White Oak Ventures LLC, the owners of the White Oak campus, for their generous donation of space in the old White Oak office and the wooden weave room floor. Most of the building is used for warehouse, but we hope one day much of the weave room floor space with be producing indigo dyed products once again.
Why was the White Oak Legacy Foundation (WOLF) established?
Maybe I was foolish to believe we could start White Oak back up. After a continuous string of setbacks, I still haven’t let go of that idea. WOLF was outlined in 2017. At that time the shuttle looms were still on the floor of the shuttered mill. I thought if we could turn most of that fabric from those looms into jeans, the business plan would work. The preservation of the history, the building, the artifacts, and records became an obsession. I was working hard on a company called Indigo Mill Designs. We had developed a small dye machine that could run low minimums. It was hoped this machine would save White Oak because the new indigo dyeing process did not discharge a waste stream and it was much cheaper and easier to operate than the conventional rope dye range. We are still plugging away at that idea all these years later, but it seems the industry is entirely focused on big production and not ready for the disruption that the small machine will cause.
We have four pillars at WOLF: Education, Manufacturing, Historic Preservation, and Innovation. All of these are lofty goals, and they are all important to the future of the denim industry. Our industry is not sustainable as it is today. Too much fast fashion sucks up resources that are needed for other things. Our innovation work should be all about sustainability. If we educate the market about the possibilities some very smart young people will get it right one day.
WOLF organises 2-day programme to impart knowledge on denim manufacturing and textile fundamentals. What is the frequency? Who are the participants?
Right now, it is only twice per year. The participants are mostly people who work in the industry who need to understand the fabric and how it is put together. The curriculum is still being developed. I am hoping we can add more classes next year and perhaps target those on the retail floor that need to know about denim and jeans.
How does WOLF plan to promote the use of sustainably grown cotton in denim?
Seth Siegel is a good friend. He wrote Troubled Water and Let There Be Water. He is working with N-DRIP, a new player in the drip irrigation market. He taught me a lot about water. From desalination to sewage recycling to drip irrigation, Israel is our best source of knowledge about water and water management. There is a lot of misinformation about cotton, organic cotton, and water and land use. Organic fertilisers can be delivered by drip and new farming methods will conserve our valuable arable land. We really need to think more about what is sustainable and what is not and what that word really means. It is not OK to kill pollinators (bees) at the edge of an organic cotton field to prevent contamination from a nearby conventional GMO cotton field. Our sustainability labels don’t account for problems like that. So, it isn’t all black and white what we should and should not promote as sustainable.
Why is denim so important for people of Greensboro and North Carolina?
North Carolina’s economy was built on textiles, tobacco, and furniture. The textiles and furniture moved to Asia and tobacco is nearly gone. Today the bulk of synthetic indigo is made in China. Some of us in the industry believe it is possible to bring back natural indigo production using new technologies like drip irrigation for growing and catalytic hydrogenation preparing the dye. It is a natural replacement for tobacco and a good rotation crop. Our friends at Stony Creek Colors in Tennessee think it could happen. It is not just conjecture because it is based on yields of growing and extracting indigo over the last few years. New sustainable methods of reducing the indigo dye have been developed. Those smelly fermentation vats are no longer necessary. And dyeing in enclosed inert nitrogen environments will reduce the water and chemicals needed to almost zero. Sustainable methods of growing cotton, new methods of spinning yarn, and the possibility of dyeing with indigo in a highly sustainable way, all bode well for bringing indigo dyed yarn production back to North Carolina. Natural indigo with improved fastness works well for home furnishing products as well as denim. Millions of yarns of indigo dyed fabrics were printed in Greensboro at Proximity Print Works. We have already started thinking about beautiful print fabrics coloured with natural indigo.
Is WOLF collaborating with history museums and universities? How does the collaboration work?
We are only scratching the surface. Our Innovations in Blue exhibit to celebrate the 1921 patent on continuous indigo dyeing is a success. We are working closely with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and we have a good contact at the North Carolina History Museum.
What does WOLF plan to do to promote the preservation of sewn products or textile jobs in North Carolina?
We think our denim should be sewn nearby, maybe even right on site. We believe the supply chain should be short and we want to work on ways to bring cut and sew back to North Carolina.
What is The Denim Exchange? How is WOLF associated with it?
The Denim Exchange is a concept we have only begun to explore. If a significant innovation centre could be established at White Oak, perhaps the mills and brands would both be attracted to a place where they could develop new product and show that product to customers. The proximity to WOLF is a big advantage for those that frequent the denim trade shows. It could be a permanent trade show without the huge crowds.
Is any new research being carried out in US universities when it comes to denim and jean manufacturing?
When I was working on Indigo Mill Designs, I saw first-hand the problem that universities have working with industry. Everything is all convoluted when it comes to IP ownership, patents, and licensing. Very few universities make this work to their advantage because there is relentless pressure on price in the final product. Licensing cost is an issue for the buyers and licensing sharing is an issue for the IP owner. I am sure there are many worthwhile projects going on, but I know for sure that it is really hard to get them started without philanthropical participation from a foundation.
Published on: 21/03/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
