Gold Toe Brands, Inc., is the third-largest
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
–based producer of
socks
A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...
.
History
Gold Toe was founded by Fritz S. Stern, Fritz Bendheim, and J. Kuglemanin in
Bally, Pennsylvania, on September 18, 1919, under the name Great American Knitting Mills.
In 1923, Rudolf Abrams, a cousin of Fritz Stern's wife, joined the company.
[75th anniversary Collection of Memories, Great American Knitting Mills]
During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, Gold Toe began manufacturing men's socks from high quality
Irish linen
Irish linen () is the name given to linen produced in Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Linen is cloth woven from, or yarn spun from, flax fibre, which was grown in Ireland for many years before advanced agri ...
, making their product resistant to holes and fraying.
In the 1930s, the company added gold acetate thread to the toes of its socks to make them visually distinctive on store shelves.
The manufacturer changed its name to Gold Toe Brands Inc. in 2002.
Gold Toe merged with competitor Moretz in 2006 to form Gold Toe Moretz.
Gildan Activewear acquired the company in 2011. The following year, they partnered with the advertising agency,
DeVito/Verdi, to “revitalize and contemporize” the brand.
Operations
The company's headquarters are located in
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which en ...
, with executive headquarters in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Gold Toe Brands, Inc. has shifted much of its manufacturing to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, particularly the
Zhejiang
)
, translit_lang1_type2 =
, translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese)
, image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg
, image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains
, image_map = Zhejiang i ...
province.
Vice-president Trish McHale intended to create affordable socks primarily for men.
Although its primary market is men's dress socks, Gold Toe Brands has expanded into other areas of the sock market.
In 1983, it added a line of women's socks, and in 1986, it began producing boys' socks. In 1992, the brand started making women's
tights
Tights are a kind of cloth garment, most often sheathing the body from the waist to the toe tips with a tight fit, hence the name. They come in absolute opaque, opaque, sheer and fishnet styles — or a combination, such as the original concep ...
.
Gold Toe produces 140 million pairs of socks annually
and is on the
American Podiatric Medical Association's approved list of brands for foot health.
See also
*
List of sock manufacturers
References
{{Reflist
Companies based in North Carolina
Hosiery brands
Socks