Rachel Weeks, CEO of School House, a collegiate apparel company in downtown Durham, wishes there could be "Made in Durham" labels for her company's products.
That's because School House, which moved its manufacturing from Sri Lanka to North Carolina this year, has contracted with Mitt's Nitts, the last known apparel manufacturer in Durham, to make items for its fall 2012 line.
"To have people see in the Duke bookstore that it's made in Durham — wouldn't that be great?" Weeks said.
Durham had a sizable textile industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the textile factories closed as companies moved their manufacturing overseas.
By the 1980s, most had shuttered.
Mitt's Nitts, founded in 1981, has survived on contracts with the U.S. military to cut and sew sweaters. The company also sells to law-enforcement departments.
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