Article: Premium hosiery is their stocking trade; High quality has helped a Sheboygan sock mill compete with imports

Sheboygan -- A humble pair of foreign-made socks represents some of what's wrong with the U.S. economy, says Robert Chesebro Jr., president and CEO of Wigwam Mills Inc.

Locally owned, Wigwam makes athletic and work socks sold by specialty retailers rather than discount stores such as Wal-Mart.

Its products are more expensive than imported cotton socks, mostly because Wigwam uses higher quality materials. It's also because the socks are made here with a union work force rather than cheap overseas labor.

But while much of the U.S. sock industry has been decimated by foreign competition, 103-year-old Wigwam continues to thrive and sell socks around the world.

Chesebro says he plans to keep the ...