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Historic

Fifty Years Later: Is the NC Textile Industry Dead or Alive?

Authors
  • Doris H. Kincade (Virginia Tech)
  • Elizabeth H Dull (High Point University)
  • Dina Smith-Glaviana (Virginia Tech)

Abstract

In the early 1970s, the NC textile industry (i.e., textile mills/textile mill products/apparel) was thriving as one of the state's top manufacturing industries. Following peak employment and establishment numbers in the early 1990s, plants began to cloase and employment layoffs became common. A second wave of layoffs occurred in the early 2000s, contributing to the perception that the NC textile industry was dead; however, recent reports proclaim new textile companies are opening in North Carolina, with numerous employee hirings. This in-depth historical study of the past 50 years examines primary and secondary sources, including government and company documents, to identify companies that closed, ones that remain, and ones that are newly opening. Findings include detailed information about companies manufacturing brand-name products that closed all NC plants, those NC companies that survived the past 50 years, and new companies that opened manufacturing plants in North Carolina in recent years. 

Keywords: Textiles, Textile Mill Products, Apparel, Manufacturing, Industry History

How to Cite:

Kincade, D. H., Dull, E. H. & Smith-Glaviana, D., (2025) “Fifty Years Later: Is the NC Textile Industry Dead or Alive?”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 81(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18520

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Published on
2025-01-13

Peer Reviewed