SIC 2325 Men's and Boys' Separate Trousers and Slacks
SIC 2325
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing men's and boys' separate trousers and slacks from purchased woven or knit fabrics, including jeans, dungarees, and jean-cut casual slacks. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing complete suits are classified in SIC 2311: Men's and Boys' Suits, Coats, and Overcoats; those manufacturing workpants (excluding jeans and dungarees) are classified in SIC 2326: Men's and Boys' Work Clothing. Knitting mills primarily engaged in manufacturing men's and boys' separate trousers and slacks are classified in SIC 2253: Knit Outerwear Mills.
315211
Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Apparel Contractors
315224
Men's and Boys' Cut and Sew Trouser, Slack, and Jean Manufacturing
During the near decade from 1995 to 2004, the value of shipments by U.S. companies making men's and boys' trousers and slacks declined, as did employment levels. This was due in large part to shifts in the nature of consumer demand, especially a growing preference for casual clothes, which led manufacturers to introduce new lines and new products. At the start of the twenty-first century, the marketplace was overrun with men's casual pants, and it appeared that American men had completed their casual work wardrobes.
Concentration in the U.S. retail industry meant that manufacturers of pants had fewer potential retailers with whom to deal. Consequently, this process gave greater leverage to those powerful chains that remained. In response to retailers' demands for cheaper goods and faster replenishment, manufacturers invested in new communications technologies and developed new production methods. Finally, U.S. manufacturers had to compete for space on retailers' shelves with cheaply produced imported pants—a trend that intensified in the aftermath of the implementation of new international trade agreements and the elimination of all remaining trade quotas effective January 1, 2005. One response to pressure from foreign competitors was to downsize domestic production and base an increasing share of production offshore.
According to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2002 Economic Census, less than 200 establishments were engaged in the production of men's and boys' trousers and slacks. This was a relatively highly concentrated industry, as the four largest manufacturers produced 60 percent of industry shipments. The industry was concentrated geographically in the south and southeastern United States. Texas led the way with almost 20 percent of all industry employment, followed by Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, each with just more than 10 percent.
Men's and boys' jeans (including jean-cut casual slacks) was the most important major product class for this industry, accounting for 64 percent of industry shipment values; men's and boys' separate dress and sport trousers, pants, and slacks accounted for 26 percent; and about 10 percent was accounted for by contract or commission work on various product categories. By far the most important material used in this industry was broadwoven fabric; this fabric made up 78 percent of total material costs for the industry.
Establishments in this industry sold their goods to department stores, specialty clothing shops, mass merchandisers, and discount chains. In addition, a number of leading pants manufacturers were expanding their own network of brand-name retail outlets. In the last two decades of the twentieth century, there was substantial concentration among U.S. apparel retailers as a result of bankruptcies and consolidation. These remaining retail chains controlled a larger share of the market and enjoyed greater leverage in their relationships with manufacturers.
In colonial America, the trousers worn by members of the elite classes were, in part, a means of denoting social status and wealth. Typically, these trousers, or breeches as they were then called, were produced by highly skilled craftsmen. Although they had utilitarian function, no effort was spared in trying to embellish these slacks, which were made from the finest of fabrics and decorated with ornaments of distinction.
The outcome of the American Revolution thrust an emergent and growing middle class—composed of industrialists, merchants, storekeepers, and their various assistants or professionals—to the forefront of political and economic activity and had a profound impact on men's fashion. The fashions of the European nobility were quickly discarded because they symbolized the garb of counter-revolutionaries. Gone were ornately designed trousers. Garments manufactured by U.S. producers gained prominence, while those woven from imported fabrics were looked upon with political disfavor. Simplicity and utility were central to what was regarded as good taste in dress. The day George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States, he wore a suit coat and pants of fine dark brown broadcloth woven in one of the regional hotbeds of the American Revolution—Worcester, Massachusetts.
The taste among American men for utilitarian...
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