White Oak Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit located in Greensboro, North Carolina.  Proximity Manufacturing Co. is weaving denim using shuttle looms.  Currently warp yarns for Proximity are dyed by Mount Vernon Mills in Georgia, but we are working to construct a small dye range to support the production.

Proximity and WOLF occupy space at White Oak.  The facility started in 1905, and once operated 3,000 looms and 5 indigo dye ranges.  The mill produced over 4 million yards each month.

In the early years the denim was all 28” or less.  And none of it was wet processed.  In fact, it was folded and sold in bales.

White Oak was the second plant built by the Cone brothers in Greensboro.  The first plant, Proximity Mill, started in 1896 and in the beginning used natural indigo from Calcutta, India in the first years.

Proximity, White Oak, and Print Works were organized as Proximity Manufacturing Company.  Print Works was dyeing and printing fabric, some with indigo.  By the time White Oak started in 1905, Proximity Manufacturing’s three operations were using only synthetic indigo.

By the 1930’s the Cone brothers and sisters were living well.  The sisters in Baltimore were amassing an art collection that that included Picasso, Monet, and many others.

The brothers were clothing the workers of the USA.  Railroad, factory, mine workers, farmers, cowboys, and most everyone doing hard work wore the denims produced in Greensboro.

From 1922 onwards, Cone was exclusive supplier of 501®️ 28” selvage denim to Levi Strauss & Company.  

WOLF has four main missions:

LEARN - Educate those willing in the art of making denim and jeans focusing on all aspects of the supply chain.

MAKE - Using learned skills build denims for long lasting jeans that have a lighter touch on the earth.  

CREATE - Using new technologies, build supply chain templates that can save our planet’s resources.

REMEMBER - Display our history and heritage and learn from the past.

White Oak Legacy Foundation

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