Glacier FarmMedia – As they drank coffee at the kitchen table one day, Tomina Jackson and other female family members looked at each other and realized they were all wearing men’s workwear.
Jackson decided to do something about it and Rolling D Workwear was born.
“We began brainstorming about everything that we wanted in our workwear, how we wanted it to look, how we wanted to feel in it,” Jackson said.
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Why it matters: Workwear it typically designed for men and does not fit well for women who work on farms or outdoors.
Jackson works on her family farm near Inglis, Man., and wasn’t happy with available workwear choices.
“As someone who works outdoors myself, I was really starting to feel defeated by the lack of workwear options,” she said.
“There have been women working outdoors for generations and they certainly, absolutely deserve clothing that is for them and makes them feel good.”
Jackson’s aunt, Cheryl Digby, owns a manufacturing company called Deasil Custom Sewing Inc. in Morden, Man., where the first Rolling D clothing piece was made, as has everything made since.
A year after its start, the business is thriving.
“The response that we have had from women who work outdoors has been really positive,” Jackson said.
Most workwear clothes are designed and sized for men, so they don’t fit women’s bodies well. Though farming and trades jobs were once done primarily by men, Statistics Canada 2016 data shows 28.7 per cent of farm operators were women. In construction, women make up 13 per cent of Canadians employed in that industry.
The demand is high for workwear designed for women.
“Women deserve to have workwear that reflects their professional life,” Jackson said. “It’s important to have clothing that’s not only functional, but also to have clothing that actually fits. We want women who work outdoors to feel as confident as though they’re getting to put on their power suit to go to work every day.”
Jackson said the clothing is tested by women who work outdoors as part of the company’s design process.
The name Rolling D comes from the farm run by Jackson’s grandparents. That farm is no longer in operation, but Jackson said it reminds her of where she came from and what she’s working toward with her business.
“It’s reflective of our roots in the world of agriculture. I think it also pays homage to our family, in particular the women in our family who inspired our business.”
This article was originally published at The Western Producer.
