Gina Locklear grew up in Fort Payne, Alabama, a town once known as the “Sock Capital of the World,” where the hosiery industry was central to life. At its peak in the 1990s, it produced one out of every eight socks … Globally. However, a 2005 trade deal led many corporations to move production overseas, devastating local mills. Facing this crisis, Gina founded the Zkano brand and revitalized her family’s mill and the local industry. Meet “The Sock Queen of Alabama,” Gina Locklear of Zkano Socks, and discover how she’s forging a new chapter in her hometown’s manufacturing legacy.
Tell us about how you got into the sock business.
I was born and raised in Fort Payne, a small town in Northeast Alabama that’s widely known for making socks. When I was 12, my parents — after being encouraged by other family members who also manufactured socks in Fort Payne — decided to get into the sock business and open their own small mill.
I grew up in the mill, learning the business and watching my parents work hard and make sacrifices to turn their little business into a success — something that would support our family. Their years of dedication and hard work eventually paid off, allowing my parents to provide my sister and me with a college education. I was the first person in my immediate family to attend college.
[After the 2005 trade law], It was painful to watch my parents worry if their business would survive. I did not want to see their many years of hard work and dedication be lost. I came up with the idea of starting our own brand so we could make and sell our own line of socks. If we could do this and become good at it, that would make us less dependent on receiving orders from large corporations, and maybe, somehow, we could stay open.
Zkano was born.
What makes Zkano socks unique?
We knit our socks with premium organic cotton grown in Texas, spun and dyed with low-impact dyes in North Carolina, and almost all of our supply chain is in the southern United States.
But what makes us unique is that we manufacture AND sell our own socks. Only a few other brands like us also make their own socks. Most brands do not handle their own manufacturing and have it sourced to a mill that’s (not always, but usually) located in a different state or country.
Making our own socks allows us to offer a better product because we have total control over each step of the manufacturing process, overseeing our quality control every step of the way.
Why is sustainability important to you?
From the beginning, I wanted this business to have as little impact on the earth as possible. I adopted an organic lifestyle in the early 2000s. When I started Zkano, I knew that the cotton had to reflect things that are important to me and be organically grown. Because of that, I wanted to incorporate sustainable practices everywhere I could in all our processes.
We manufacture our own socks, so we have total control over our processes at the mill. We start by using certified organic cotton that’s grown, spun, and dyed in the South. The dyes for our cotton are referred to as “low impact” because they are free of heavy metals and use less water to produce.
Once the cotton arrives at our mill, we make small batches of our socks to avoid excess inventory. We use no chemicals in our finishing processes and the water we use is very minimal. Typical sock manufacturing practices add chemicals to socks to make them softer and use very large amounts of water just to process one run of socks. But because we make our socks in small batches, we only use a fraction of the water used in a typical hosiery mill.
We also recycle 100% of our waste.
Because I understand how socks are made and how raw materials are produced, I believe our socks are some of the cleanest and most sustainable around.
An article in The New York Times dubbed you the “Sock Queen of Alabama.” How did you feel about that title, and what impact did the article have on you and the Zkano brand?
That article changed everything for us. It was published in 2016, and Zkano was still pretty young at that point; we were only six. To this day, I remember it all so vividly. We had no money for marketing, and our business was in need of a boost.
We desperately needed to get our name out and introduce our socks to more people. I was discouraged because I didn’t know how we were going to grow our business beyond where we were.
Then, in late 2015, we heard that The New York Times was interested in our business and might print a story about us. A few weeks later, NYT journalist Steven Kurutz was at our mill. I still didn’t believe it would actually happen.
The article came out the last week of March 2016 and I remember the exact moment when Steven called me to let me know it was going to be the cover story of the Thursday Styles section. I was elated! It was so much bigger than I could have ever dreamed.
Our story was the lead story on the homepage of The New York Times! That was the proudest moment of my life. All of our hard work was being recognized. Our story and the story of Fort Payne, Alabama, were being told in a huge way. We picked up so many new customers who are still customers today. We needed it so badly, and it could not have happened at a better time for us. I will be forever grateful for that story.
As for the nickname, I love it. Family, friends, and even people I don’t know still call me “Sock Queen” today. I fully embrace it because not only did the Sock Queen story help our business beyond measure, but it may have even saved it.
We stayed in touch with Steven over the years, and in 2019, he called me and said he was writing a book about the American textile industry and wanted to feature us in it. “American Flannel” came out this spring. The book is a deep dive into the stories of American-made businesses like us, and Steven refers to it as ‘a love letter to U.S. makers and manufacturers.’ We’re honored to be included in his book and for our small part in the history of American manufacturing to be told in this format.
The one million dollar question: What is the RIGHT way to pronounce Zkano?
We are asked this a lot! We say it: zə-kah-no’
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
Read, spend time with my family and friends, travel, watch old Halloween movies, and hang out with my dog, Ozzie.
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Lately, I love a podcast. I really like Mel Robbins and have found some of her advice life changing.
What is your best piece of advice?
I’m not sure I have any great advice. But some things I strive for are staying active, keeping in contact with my friends, putting myself in others’ shoes, and treating people how I want to be treated.
Aside from faith, family, and friends, name three things you can’t live without:
Could I live without these things? Yes. But three that I really, really enjoy are music, coffee, and audiobooks.
LIGHTENING ROUND
Last delicious local meal: Current Charcoal Grill
Favorite place to vacation: We rarely revisit the same place. But a recent favorite trip was the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.
Your go-to gift to give: Our socks!
Favorite recent TV show binge: The Perfect Couple
Book(s) on your bedside table: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, and American Flannel by Steven Kurutz
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Southern women are doing inspiring work. Meet more of them over at our FACES archives!
