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Posted: November 07, 2021
Last Updated: November 07, 2021

Workers stand outside a Chinese factory accused of employing North Korean labourers. The use of North Korean migrant workers has been banned by the UN Security Council since 2019, since their wages generate ‘foreign export earnings’ that North Korea ‘uses to support ... missile programs.’ (CBC)

Factory workers in China — Workers stand outside a Chinese factory accused of employing North Korean labourers. The use of North Korean migrant workers has been banned by the UN Security Council since 2019, since their wages generate ‘foreign export earnings’ that North Korea ‘uses to support ... missile programs.’ (CBC)

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Canadian brands sold clothing from factory suspected of secretly using North Korean forced labour

Do you think you know where your clothes are coming from?

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Thursday 4 November 2021

Jeans ripped

Ripped Jeans History - What is the origin of ripped jeans?

Fashion Terms Fashion Terms R

There are primarily three types of ripped jeans.

Jeans ripped naturally be frequent use or age of the denim.
Jeans ripped on purpose by the owner of the garment.
Jeans ripped during the manufacturing process on purpose.

Ripped jeans are denim jeans with tear or rips, often on the knees but possibly in other locations on the pant.

They were popular in the late 1980s during the hard rock/heavy metal era and in the 1990s and 2000s during the grunge era. The punk culture also have been known to be fans of fabrics with various blemishes.

Pants that are showing natural or manipulated wear & tear are often referenced as distressed.

Worn and ripped jeans remain popular as they are still sold in stores and manipulated by consumers currently. In the early 2010s, ripped jeans came back in style, as a 90s revival, but were sometimes introduced as Distressed - similar to ripped jeans, but the horizontal sewing point was occasionally removed to look like it was distressed.

Not all distressed jeans are worn as a fashion statement. Ripped jeans were simply a result of over-wearing. Prior to the 1970's, ripped jeans were mainly associated with the less fortunate. The lower end of the working class could not afford to part with their denim. Obviously, if a family cannot afford to purchase new pants, they may continue wearing them past the point of their own personal preference. The reality is that long before people were wearing torn jeans to express personal style, people wear wearing torn clothing out of necessity.

Those who intentionally display ripped jeans, are typically not poor but do this as a conscious choice.

Which denim jean manufacturer was the first to decide that it was OK to produce ripped jeans on purpose?

Find jean factories in the Apparel Search clothing factory directory section.

Ripped Jeans Distressed
The above ripped and distressed jeans examples are from Lucky Brand Jeans (2015).