The Great Western Garment Company (GWG) was a Canadian denim and western wear clothing company founded in 1911 in Edmonton, Alberta by Charles A. Graham, Alfred E. Jackson, and Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first Premier of Alberta.[1] The company was acquired by Levi Strauss, starting in 1961.
Description
The Great Western Garment Company was a Canadian denim and western wear clothing company. The company's slogan of "They wear longer because they're made stronger" suggests the clothing's intended market: farmers and working-class people. The company also appealed to a working class demographic with their affordable pricing, usually 2/3 the price of red-tab Levi's jeans.[2]
History
Independent operation
GWG was founded in 1911 in Edmonton, Alberta by Charles A. Graham, Alfred E. Jackson, and Alexander Cameron Rutherford (the first Premier of Alberta).[2] In 1917, the company instituted an 8-hour day and 44-hour week, making it one of the first in North America to do so.
The company provided clothing for the war effort during both World Wars. During World War II, GWG produced up to 100,000 pieces of military clothing per month for the Canadian and Allied armed forces, making it the largest clothing manufacturer in the British Commonwealth.[3]
In 1972, GWG's Donald Freeland developed the stone washed technique for its products, increasing the softness and flexibility of the rigid denim fabric. During the remainder of the 1970s, the denim and textiles industry fully adopted the stone-washing technique, helping to bring denim to a larger and more versatile market.[4]
References
- Jeff Keshen. The Frontier of Patriotism: Alberta and the First World War University of Calgary Press, 2016^
- Case Study, Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning retrieved 2007-07-09^
- Catherine C. Cole. Clothing the Armed Forces: The Great Western Garment Company during WWII University of Alberta, Albertasource.ca, 2005, retrieved 2010-11-24