You've seen Full Blue jeans¹ at retailers like Walmart or Bomgaars. They look practical and the price is right, but the brand itself is a bit of a mystery, leaving you wondering who is actually behind them.

Full Blue jeans are made by The Full Blue Company, a private-label manufacturer. They specialize in creating affordable, work-style jeans for large retailers, focusing on providing value and function rather than widespread brand marketing.

This question is fantastic because it pulls back the curtain on a huge part of the apparel industry that most people never see. In my two decades running the DiZNEW denim factory, I've seen that the market isn't just made of big, famous brands. It's also built by companies like Full Blue, who are experts at being the manufacturing partner for major retailers.

They master the art of creating a solid, dependable garment that can be sold at an accessible price. Understanding their business model is key to understanding where a huge portion of the jeans we wear actually come from.

Who actually manufactures Full Blue jeans?

You know "The Full Blue Company²" is the name, but that doesn't fully explain the business. Are they a factory, a design house, or just an importer? The structure behind the brand isn't clear to you.

The Full Blue Company is what we call a private-label manufacturer³. This means they design, produce, and supply jeans that retailers then sell under the "Full Blue" name. They manage the entire process for their retail partners⁴.

The private-label model is a cornerstone of the modern retail world. I work with this model often. A large retailer decides they need a certain type of product—for example, a relaxed-fit carpenter jean that can sell for under $30. Instead of building their own design team and factory relationships, they partner with a specialist company like Full Blue.

Full Blue has the expertise. They know which fabrics to source, what construction techniques to use, and which factories can produce the jeans to meet the quality and price targets. They handle everything. The retailer gets a high-volume, profitable product without the risk and overhead of developing it from scratch. It's a B2B (business-to-business) relationship where Full Blue is the expert engine that powers the retailer's denim section.

Role	The Full Blue Company (Private Label)	A Designer's Brand (like Dean's)
Primary Goal	Fulfill a retailer's specific product need	Execute a unique creative vision
Design Driver	Price point and market data	Originality and brand aesthetic
Customer	The retail-chain buyer	The end consumer
Success Metric	High-volume sales, retailer satisfaction	Brand recognition, critical acclaim

What is the oldest company still making jeans?

This talk of different brands gets you thinking about history. You know jeans have been around a long time. You wonder which of the great, iconic names was the very first to create the work pants we know today.

Levi Strauss & Co. is the oldest company still making jeans. They, along with tailor Jacob Davis, received a U.S. patent for riveted work pants on May 20, 1873. This invention is considered the birth of the blue jean.

The history of these founding brands is something I've studied for years, as it defines the entire industry. While other historic brands exist, Levi's has the undisputed claim to being first. The H.D. Lee Company, which became "Lee Jeans," was founded in 1889, but they didn't become famous for denim pants until later with their Union-All coveralls in 1913.

Wrangler is the newcomer of the group, established in 1947 specifically for the rodeo market. This heritage is more than just a fun fact; it's the core of each brand's identity. Levi's is "The Original." Lee is the "innovator of workwear."

Wrangler is "authentic cowboy." Every decision they make today, from a fit to a marketing campaign, connects back to that deep history. For a designer like Dean, these archives are a gold mine of inspiration.

Brand	Founded	Key Innovation	Core Identity
Levi Strauss & Co.	1873 (patent)	Riveted Pockets	The Original
Lee	1889	Union-All Coverall, Zipper Fly	Workwear Pioneer
Wrangler	1947	Pro-Rodeo "Cowboy Cut" Jean	Authentic Western

Who makes Wrangler blue jeans?

You see Wrangler as a standalone American icon. The brand feels so strong and has such a distinct identity. It's hard to imagine it being owned or managed by another company behind the scenes.

Wrangler blue jeans are made by Kontoor Brands, Inc.⁵ It's a large American apparel corporation based in North Carolina that also owns Lee. While they are operated as separate brands, they share the same corporate parent.

This is a very common structure that we see in almost every industry. A parent company owns a portfolio of different brands. For years, Lee and Wrangler were part of the giant VF Corporation. In 2019, VF spun off its denim division to create a new, publicly traded company focused purely on jeans: Kontoor Brands.

From a manufacturing and logistics perspective, this is incredibly efficient. As a factory owner, I understand the power of scale. Kontoor can negotiate huge fabric orders from denim mills to supply both Lee and Wrangler, driving down costs.

They can share distribution centers and shipping networks. So while the design and marketing teams for each brand work to create a unique identity and compete for customers, the business side behind them is consolidated for maximum strength and efficiency.

What brand of blue jeans are made in the USA?

After learning about global manufacturing and private labels, you want to get back to basics. You want to find jeans that are truly American-made, from the fabric cutting to the final stitch.

Several niche brands proudly make their jeans entirely in the USA. These include heritage workwear brands⁶ like Round House and Pointer Brand, and premium craft brands like Tellason and Railcar Fine Goods. They focus on domestic craftsmanship.

This is the other side of the denim world, the one that runs on passion and principle. These companies are not trying to compete with Full Blue or Wrangler on price. They are selling a different thing entirely. They are selling American craftsmanship. They often use expensive and beautiful selvedge denim, sometimes sourced from the last remaining American mill (though most now comes from Japan).

They pay higher American wages for the skill of their sewers. The result is a more expensive product, but one that comes with a story and an incredible level of quality and detail. This is the market that denim purists⁷ and high-end designers watch closely. It proves that American manufacturing isn't dead; it has just become more specialized and is now a mark of premium quality.

Conclusion

Full Blue operates as a private-label manufacturer for major retailers. Legacy brands like Levi's and Wrangler balance history with global scale, while dedicated artisan brands continue to make jeans in the USA.

---