Jockey International
2300 60th St., Kenosha
Industry: Clothing manufacturer
Innovation: Stay cool line of underwear
Kenosha-based Jockey International Inc. has been in the underwear business for more than 100 years. The company is credited with inventing the first men’s brief and today its products are sold all over the world.
But now the company has come up with a new type of underwear. Jockey recently developed “smart fabric,” and this spring released its Stay Cool line, which is the first to use smart fabric. The smart fabric contains body temperature absorbing molecules developed by Boulder, Colo.-based Outlast Technologies Inc.
Jockey is the first company to market men and women’s underwear treated with Outlast Technology in the United States.
Developed for astronauts to regulate the changing temperatures in space and reduce sweat, Jockey says the “smart fabric” underwear keeps the wearer’s skin cooler by up to three degrees.
Outlast technology treatment uses phase changing materials to retain excess heat and maintain the microclimate between the wearer’s skin and the underwear. It is applied to the Stay Cool fabrics topically before the garment is manufactured.
Jockey Stay Cool underwear for women is made from 95 percent cotton and five percent spandex and the male version is made from 100 percent cotton. The Jockey Stay Cool line also includes crew neck and v-neck t-shirts, tank tops and briefs.
“Jockey has forever emphasized innovation,” said president and chief operating officer Ed Emma. “From our invention of the world’s first men’s brief to the new Stay Cool collection, our focus on developing new products to exceed consumer needs and desires is part of Jockey’s DNA.”
