With their latest jeans, Imogene + Willie put the U.S. denim supply chain to the ultimate test.
The jeans are the second phase from the “Made in USA” brand’s Cotton Project, an initiative dedicated to growing, processing and manufacturing cotton onshore in the Southeast U.S.
The jeans are made with single-origin sources within a 400-mile radius of the brand’s Nashville headquarters. The regeneratively-farmed cotton comes from Martin Farms in Courtland, Ala.; the natural indigo is from Stony Creek Colors, a regenerative farm that grows plant-based dyes including natural indigo in Springfield, Tenn.
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Mount Vernon Mills in Trion, Ga., the largest denim manufacturer and the only remaining rope dye range in the U.S., produced the fabric.
“We always wanted to be able to do this in the denim space because, at our core, we are a denim company. Being able to work with locally grown natural indigo and the teams at Stony Creek Colors and Mount Vernon has been a dream for years,” said K.P. McNeill, Imogene + Willie CEO.
The collection marks the first time Mount Vernon has utilized natural indigo at their facility. The mill stopped production at their dye range, cleaned and sanitized the dye vats, and filled them with natural indigo from Stony Creek Colors. Since natural indigo costs more than synthetic indigo, the brand said experimenting with these production methods at this scale is unique, particularly in the United States.
Imogene + Willie’s relationship with Dale McCollum, who recently retired after 50 years of employment at Mount Vernon Mills, helped secure the mill’s involvement in the project. The brand said the mill was “willing to take a risk on uncharted territory with the small denim brand.”
“Mount Vernon is a hero of this story, as they are really the last remaining mill of their size making denim in the USA. They deserve a lot of credit for still being there, innovating and changing with the times—to adapt and survive in an ever-changing supply chain landscape,” McNeill said.
For the collection, Imogene + Willie made a creative decision to select two utilitarian patterns as a nod to the workwear history of Mount Vernon. The Cotton Project collection includes the Hencye, a men’s double-knee work pant, and the Augusta, a women’s carpenter pant, both washed down to a soft and well-worn finish. The jeans retail for $265. This places the natural indigo jeans in the mid-range of Imogene + Willie’s denim offerings, which range from $235 to $325.
Imogene + Willie established The Cotton Project in 2021 by purchasing a 22-acre cotton crop at Martin Farm. The brand offered a premium price 25 percent above market standards to ensure fair compensation for farmers while investing in regenerative agriculture before planting even began. A year later, Imogene + Willie doubled their investment in cotton crops.
The brand launched its first product from the project, a cotton unisex T-shirt, in May. However, the second launch of the project sends a clear message: this wasn’t just a one-off for the brand.
“This is real life proof that we’re taking what we learned and advancing it. We want more and more of our business to be done this way,” McNeill said. “We’re making an attempt to do things differently, and if enough people in the industry attempt to do things differently, that will make a big impact.”
