Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Workwear |
Founded | 1889 |
Headquarters | Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. |
Revenue | $324 Million (2012) [1] |
Number of employees | 4000 (2012) |
Website | www.carhartt.com |
Carhartt, Inc., is a U.S.-based clothing company founded in 1889. Carhartt is known for its work clothes,[2] such as jackets, coats, overalls, coveralls, vests, shirts, jeans, dungarees and fire resistant clothing. It is still a family-owned company, owned by the descendants of founder Hamilton Carhartt, with its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Founding and history
editCarhartt was founded by Hamilton Carhartt in 1889 in Detroit, Michigan to make work clothing for manual laborers. Their initial growth throughout the 1890s was focused on railroad workers' need for durable and long lasting work overalls. Over time, Carhartt clothing items evolved trademark features intended to further extend durability, including the use of heavy duty threads, reinforcing rivets at vital stress points, and a variety of durable, high technology materials resistant to flames, abrasion and water. Today, Carhartt clothing is commonly found on construction sites, farms and ranches, among other job sites.[3][4]
Products and marketing
editCarhartt is famous for its full-cut, wind-resistant, snag-proof, heavy-duty work jackets popular with construction workers, miners, farmers, hunters, and outdoorsmen. Carhartt has successfully expanded its appeal to rappers and their fans, clubbers, preppy types, etc. Carhartt jackets are generally plain and have muted colors such as mustard and navy blue. They are usually waist-length or three-quarter length. Most are made from relatively stiff 12-ounce cotton canvas with triple-stitched seams. Carhartt also makes pants and overalls with colors and materials that match its jackets.[3][4]
Carhartt had total sales of $92 million in 1990. As of 1992, Carhartt sold more than 2 million jackets per year.[3][4]
In 2007, the company launched the Carhartt for Women[5] line of women's workwear for the fall season.
Carhartt sells through many kinds of retailers but refuses to allow discount stores such as K-Mart to carry its products in order to protect its brand.[6]
Carhartt jackets are not designed for unusually tall or slender men; they are cut wide around the middle to accommodate hefty men.[3]
Manufacturing
editCarhartt continues to own and operate unionized sewing and distribution centers in the United States and offers a "Union-Made in USA" line of workwear through its retailers, but items like T-shirts, knit caps, and even some lower priced items such as chore coats are made overseas, though most feature American-made fabrics and components. Carhartt says that its international suppliers must have Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) certification. Due to competition from other apparel manufacturers and pressure to drive down prices, the manufacturing of many of Carhartt's non-core apparel items have been outsourced abroad. Some countries where outsourcing is and has been done are: Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, China, and the Philippines.
As of 2003, Carhartt operated a total of four factories in two Mexican states employing about 2000 workers. In 1997, Carhartt built a factory in Pénjamo, state of Guanajuato, Mexico, and in December 2001 they opened a second plant about 30 miles away, in the city of Irapuato. In 2003, Carhartt purchased two additional facilities from the Labor Board of the state of Durango in an auction. All of Carhartt's Mexican plants have WRAP certification.
Carhartt abroad
editCarhartt EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) was formed in 2006 to provide workwear to the European market.
In Canada, the main retailer of Carhartt is Mark's Work Wearhouse (L'Équipeur in Québec).
The Carhartt Work In Progress (WIP) line is the streetwear version of the brand, often marketed as comparable to Stussy or Supreme (clothing). In Japan, it is a streetbrand that often collaborates with other streetwear brands. An example would be the line of A Bathing Ape X Carhartt WIP camouflage hoodies and jackets.[7] The WIP license supports affinity groups such as artists, musicians and skateboarders.
2013 collaborations also include lines from Adam Kimmel x Carhartt, as well as collections through the A.P.C. x Carhartt line. Both collections used fashion designers, Adam Kimmel and Jean Touitou.[8][9]
In popular culture
editTommy Boy Records used Carhartt jackets as a promotional vehicle and even had its logo embroidered on them. Tommy Boy initially gay away 800 such jackets to "taste makers and people seen in all the right places." This effort was so successful that the record label eventually started its own clothing line. Carhartt is now very popular with hip-hoppers. In the New York hip hop scene mustard brown and hunter green Carhartts are generally favored.[3]
The main characters of Interstellar movie wear Carhartt jackets.[10]
In an interview by Deezer, Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots wore a Carhartt beanie.[11]
Sponsorships and philanthropy
editIn the United States, Carhartt sponsors blue-collar organizations and events such as the National FFA Organization, and rodeos.
During the 9/11 World Trade Center rescue operations, the Carhartt company donated thousands of bib overalls to the rescue crew to be used on scene.
Notes
edit- ^ "Carhartt, Inc". InsideView. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04.
- ^ Bianco, David (2006). "Carhartt, Inc". International Directory of Company Histories.
- ^ a b c d e Marriott, Michel (29 November 1992). "THING; The Carhartt Jacket". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Mundow, Anna (11 January 1993). "Pretty? No. Utilitarian? Yes". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Durable Workwear, Outdoor Apparel, & Gear - Carhartt".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Times
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "A History of BAPE CollaborationsCarhartt". Complex Networks.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Interstellar Fashion Items Identified: Carhartt Jackets, Hamilton Watches For Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain". StyleFrizz.com. 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- ^ "Premiere: Twenty One Pilots - Deezer Close Up". Clashmusic. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
External links
edit- Official website
- Carhartt Europe
- Carhartt "Work in Progress"
- Carhartt Streetwear
- Carhartt History
- Carhartt for Women launch press release
Category:1889 establishments in Michigan Category:Clothing brands of the United States Category:Clothing companies of the United States Category:Companies based in Wayne County, Michigan Category:Companies established in 1889 Category:Dearborn, Michigan Category:Workwear