Jockey was originally named Coopers, Inc., and was founded by Samuel T. Cooper in St. Joseph, Michigan in 1876 as a hosiery business.[9][10][11] Cooper began the business after hearing that lumberjacks suffered from poorly constructed wool socks. In 1900, Cooper began making undergarments. By 1902 the business was expanding. However, by 1934 Coopers Inc. was nearly bankrupt due to the Great Depression.[12] The company recruited Harry H. Wolf Sr., to restructure the company.
On January 19, 1935, during a blizzard, Coopers, Inc. sold the world's first briefs at the Marshall Field's State Street store in downtown Chicago. Designed by so-called 'apparel engineer' Arthur Kneibler, briefs dispensed with leg sections and had a Y-shaped overlapping fly.[13] The company dubbed it the Jockey, claiming it offered support like a jockstrap. Over 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction. Coopers used a Mascul-liner plane to deliver masculine support briefs to retailers across the US. When they were introduced to the UK in 1938, they sold 3,000 a week.[13]
In 1958, the company introduced the first mass-sale men's bikini brief, known as 'Skants'. The low-cut nylon and elastic brief, inspired by women's bikinis, had no front fly and was unlined apart from a small support panel at the lower front.[14] Skants sold well in the 1960's and into the 1970's especially in the US and the UK. Initially manufactured in white, blue, and black, Skants were eventually produced in a wider variety of colors. They were popular with gay men at a time in which homosexuality was widely illegal. Skants were modified in the early 1970's to reduce the slightly raised join in the elastic on the hips (the new design was called 'Skants St Tropez'), but this brief was never popular because it lacked the support of the earlier design, and eventually succumbed to competition. Jockey still produces Skants, mostly cotton, for sale in several countries including South Africa and New Zealand.
Coopers renamed itself Jockey Menswear, Inc. in 1971,[15] and Jockey International, Inc. the following year.[16] In 1997 Jockey acquired the seamless panties division of Formfit-Rogers, and sold them under the name Form-Fit (this branding was later discontinued).[17] In 1982, Jockey introduced the Jockey For Her line of intimate apparel and underwear.[18] In 2011, Jockey launched a line of underwear using Outlast Technologies, which was originally developed to help NASA astronauts stay comfortable in changing temperatures and reduce sweating.[19][20][21]
In August 2020, country singer Luke Bryan became a paid corporate spokesperson for the Jockey brand.[22] In October 2020, Jockey International's India and its affiliate Page Industries were investigated by the US-based Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) over allegations of human rights violations in one of its factories.[23] In December of the same year, Page Industries Ltd., the licensee of Jockey International in India, was recertified by Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) and found to be socially compliant. WRAP said human rights violations allegations were not substantiated by the findings of the audit. [24][25]
Philanthropy
Jockey sponsors the Jockey Being Family Foundation, a charity focused on supporting families after they have adopted a child. Jockey claims that the foundation increases awareness of and accessibility to post-adoption services in the United States for adoptive families. The foundation distributes Jockey-branded backpacks and tote bags to a number of adopted children and adoptive parents. Jockey does not disclose how much funding it gives to the foundation.[26]
